THE TWO PLAYERS THE TIGERS COULD BE WEIGHING UP WITH THEIR FIRST PICKBy Andrew Slevison
SEN
24 November 2021Richmond takes a very strong hand into this year’s AFL Draft which kicks off on Wednesday night.
List manager Blair Hartley and recruiting boss Matthew Clarke have some significant decisions to make on who they will take with their earliest pick.
The Tigers hold five selections inside the top 30 with their first pick coming at No.7, which will slide back to No.9 after father-son bids on Nick Daicos and Sam Darcy.
AFL Media’s draft expert Cal Twomey believes the Tigers will be weighing up whether they target a midfielder in the form of Ben Hobbs or look at a key position option like his GWV Rebels and Vic Country teammate Josh Gibcus.
Twomey says there is also a decision to be made about topping up for now or looking to the future for a club that has won three flags in the past five seasons.
“A great hand,” Twomey said on Sportsday.
“We had Matt Clarke on the Draft Countdown and we did speak about do you select players based on the view that you’re a chance to win the flag next year with a full list.
“With the early picks I don’t think they’ll do that. You still have to pick what’s best for the long term and you build for the long term via the draft.
“I still think that they could be weighing up Ben Hobbs, the midfielder, early on versus the key defender Josh Gibcus.
“That’s a tight call because they’ve lost some talls right at the top in terms of Cal Coleman-Jones, Mabior Chol and David Astbury retired, all in one hit over the off-season That would have come as a surprise to lose all three of them in one go.
“So do they take the tall or do they go for the midfield replacement who down the track might be the next Trent Cotchin or Dion Prestia.”
Twomey also suggests there could be some live trading done by Richmond in a bid to sneak up the draft order.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if if they try to do something with one of their picks in the 20s,” he added.
“Potentially package it with pick 15 and try and move up the board a little bit because there is live trading to happen.
“That would be an opportunity for them to really make some ground on the top 12 or 13 selections.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2021/11/23/the-two-players-richmond-could-be-weighing-up-with-their-first-pick/