The bidding war for Richmond’s fabulous Baker boyJake Niall
The Age
April 14, 2024 Liam Baker met with both West Coast and Fremantle in 2022, before he decided to remain with Richmond, where he had played in premierships in 2019 and 2020.
West Coast were the stronger suitor then, even though an improved Fremantle played finals that year while the Eagles were in the early phase of a scorched earth recession that has not abated.
Baker, weighing up his options as judiciously as he does on the field, just couldn’t leave Tigerland. Loyalty to teammates and comfort in the Richmond environment prevailed.
But in an era when top-shelf players are routinely given seven- and eight-year deals – long enough to see off a few prime ministers and Carlton coaches – Baker signed only for two seasons. He had the currency to secure a five-year contract if he wished.
So, he kept his options open.
In 2024, Baker has another call to make on whether he wishes to remain at Richmond or return to his home state of Western Australia, for family, friends and farm (Baker, like Fremantle champion, Nat Fyfe hails from Lake Grace).
There are a few considerations in Baker’s call.
The first one will be personal. Does he want to go home?
Then, if he decides to leave Melbourne, the decision turns to which of West Coast or Fremantle is the better choice. We can safely assume that the Eagles and Dockers will both want him if he’s available.
Staying, of course, means sticking with the club that overlooked his lack of height (173 centimetres) and the fact that they had an abundance of small forwards then (Jack Higgins and Dan Butler were then at Richmond, Daniel Rioli was still a forward), Baker having been drafted primarily as a forward. The Tigers felt then that he was simply too good to bypass.
It’s possible that one of the WA teams will want him more than the other. The Eagles certainly need mid-20s players more acutely than Fremantle, given their dismal state.
Conversely, Baker and his management might prefer the Dockers, who are the length of the Nullarbor ahead of their local rivals on the scale of premiership proximity.
Here’s summary of the options before Baker, who, as a seventh-year player, is not a free agent.
1. Stay at RichmondThis remains the easiest call to make. Richmond is his football home, the club that has nurtured and helped forge his career; it is also a powerful club, replete with history and seasoned, highly capable people at the helm, despite Damien Hardwick’s exit.
Baker is not likely to decide until the back half of the season, from what one can gather from people who know Baker’s situation. This should not necessarily be read as a portent of an exit, since he waited until late 2022 before re-signing.
This extra time allows him to see how the revamped coaching panel, headed by Adem Yze, operates and where the club is headed. Yze has praised Baker and made clear that he really wants him around, as the Tigers attempt to rise again with a mix of seasoned players and new kids.
There’s another potentially large carrot: the captaincy.
Toby Nankervis, now a standalone skipper, is 30 in August. Baker is a vice captain and one of the lead candidates to take over.
Should Baker stick with the Tigers, it would make sense to sign a long-term deal and secure his financial future.
2. West CoastThe Eagles, doubtless, would offer Baker an attractive contract and the prospect of a leadership role at a club he followed in his youth. They can offer him a vision of a power club’s restoration, which, admittedly, will take some years.
The new list manager at West Coast, Matty Clarke, was recruiting manager at Richmond until a few weeks ago and was part of the team that drafted Baker. The new chief executive, Don Pyke, has exceptional football acumen and a mandate to remake the club.
And while players always want to win finals and flags, Baker has played in two premierships, and could be ready for a lifestyle change that revolves around family and friends in WA.
The slows on West Coast are a) the sheer scale of the list reconstruction ahead, and b), the uncertainty around the senior coach, Adam Simpson and his allies.
It is hard to see Simpson surviving beyond his contract, which runs until the end of 2025, and he could well be leaving at the end of this season, given he barely survived 2023.
West Coast cannot sacrifice a first-round pick for Baker, considering their probable ladder position this year and next. If they’re on the bottom (a win on Sunday afternoon against the depleted Tigers would make that slightly less likely), they could use the pre-season draft as a lever to snare Baker or another player, with minimal draft cost. Under the rules, he can simply walk via the pre-season draft.
There’s little chance, however, that Baker will dud the Tigers by taking the pre-season draft path. More likely, Richmond would have to settle for an end-of-first-round – the Eagles surely will seek a priority pick as North did – or a second-round choice. Or something.
3. FremantleShould Baker decide to leave, the Dockers must be seriously considered – again, assuming they’re keen. On most counts, they have more to offer than West Coast.
First, they’ve steadily built a formidable young playing list, headed by Caleb Serong, Andrew Brayshaw, Luke Jackson and Hayden Young, and should be near contention from 2025 for a period of years.
Justin Longmuir looked shaky at the end of 2023, but the Dockers’ hierarchy has backed him – and he should be right for a couple more years minimum. Fremantle’s regime appears stable.
Importantly, Fremantle have the draft capital to consummate a trade, without much fancy footwork or angst. The Dockers have three first-rounders this year – Collingwood’s (Lachie Schultz), Port Adelaide’s and their own. Baker is worth one first-round choice, outside the top 10. He falls into the good rather than great player category.
Baker’s choice is hardly comparable to that faced by Chris Judd, Lance Franklin or Jeremy Cameron. But, with shallow talent spread across 18 clubs and the Tassie Devils about to eviscerate the drafts, the former rookie lister has picked a good time to be up for grabs.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/the-bidding-war-for-richmond-s-fabulous-baker-boy-20240412-p5fjiy.html
