THE VERDICT: Our say on your club's 2021 draft haulRiley Beveridge
afl.com.au
27 November 2021What the club says: "We're really excited. We filled some really good needs in our list, we thought, particularly early. We thought some good players would come through to the 20s, and we're rapt to get our boys. All our boys are talented, but tonight, Tyler Sonsie was one of the more talented boys in the draft. He's had some injury issues in the past 18 months that's probably just stunted his development, obviously COVID along with that, but we think Tyler has great upside. He's a Richmond fan, so he's pretty excited. It's great when you can bring together a group of boys of this number. Hopefully they can play together and come through as a wave, like we've had in the past with a few of our boys coming through the draft. If you can nail some picks in the same draft and they can play a lot of footy together, then that can take you a long way." – recruiting manager Matthew Clarke.
Verdict: The Tigers had five picks inside the top-30 and used them to strengthen all three lines across the field. They took 196cm intercept defender Josh Gibcus at pick No.9, a handy addition given the loss of David Astbury to retirement earlier this year. Tom Brown was the club's other first-round pick, a 186cm running defender who can also play an effective lockdown role on the opposition's best small forwards. Tyler Sonsie and Sam Banks will both add midfield depth, with each possessing quality and smarts with ball in hand. Judson Clarke was the club's final pick and will inject speed and x-factor into the side's forward line, something the Tigers have become renowned for during their golden era under Damien Hardwick. - Riley Beveridge
https://www.afl.com.au/news/689429/the-verdict-our-say-on-your-club-s-2021-draft-haul