Just how good Richmond’s 2024 draft hand could be, and the prospects that might land at Punt RoadThe Tigers have the opportunity to head to this year’s AFL Draft with a bag of early selections.
Mitch Keating
zerohanger.com
August 21, 2024Richmond are in a rare position that could see them enter this year's National Draft with the best draft hand seen in over a decade.
Not since the inceptions of GWS and Gold Coast, who were afforded a plethora of top 10 selections to start their AFL journeys, have we seen a club potentially better placed to add to their list through the draft than the Tigers this year.
Headlined by their likely position at Pick 1, Richmond could significantly add to their prized possession with a bevy of further selections in the top 25 for November's intake.
The wealth of draft picks don't come without some unwanted departures, with each of Shai Bolton, Daniel Rioli, Jack Graham and Liam Baker linked to the exit this year, potentially adding to the departures of premiership stalwarts Dustin Martin and Dylan Grimes.
With Bolton and Rioli under contract, the Tigers could stand firm and place a priority on keeping their wantaway stars over valuable returns in the trade period. Baker is unsigned but would need to be traded, while Graham is eligible for free agency and would net the Tigers compensation in the form of a draft selection if he were to exercise his rights on the open market.
With each Tiger tied to at least one landing spot, the picture of Richmond's draft hand can begin to be painted.
Potential trade period deals for Richmond Current hand: 1, 21, 30, 39, 41, 48, 57, 65 and 73
* Fremantle part with Picks 10 and 17 for Shai Bolton
* Gold Coast part with Picks 13 and 20 for Daniel Rioli
* Liam Baker traded for Fremantle's 2025 first-round - with potential for later pick swaps to satisfy
* Richmond pocket a third-round draft selection (Pick 40) as compensation for the loss of Jack Graham
Using selections 30, 39, 40, 41 and 48, and potentially later picks, could also please the likes of Brisbane (Levi Ashcroft and Sam Marshall), Essendon (Isaac Kako), Carlton (Ben and Lucas Camporeale), Adelaide (Tyler Welsh) and Gold Coast (Leonardo Lombard), who will require draft points to match bids for club-tied prospects this November.
With the AFL not changing the draft value index until 2025, these sides can bank on a handful of later selections to attain early bids at the draft, with Richmond's five selections between Picks 30-50 estimated to value north of 2,200 points - good enough for a club having father-son or Academy draftees to match a bid at Pick 2 following the 20 per cent discount afforded to matched bids.
Trading all or most of those five selections could slot the Tigers into another place in the first-round queue. Adelaide's and Gold Coast's opening selections - currently Picks 4 and 5 - will be out of reach, but Brisbane at Pick 14 will need to part with that selection given Ashcroft's expected bid toward the top of the draft board.
If the Lions moved Pick 14 to Punt Road, it would see the Tigers' hand read as
Picks 1, 10, 13, 14, 17, 20 and 21, along with some later selections, for this year's National Draft, while Richmond would hold their own and Fremantle's first-round picks for next year's class.
So who could the Tigers use these selections on?
There's a warranted amount of fascination surrounding the opening pick of the draft, with a handful of teenagers worthy of being this year's dux. Ashcroft might be the crème de la crème, but the chance of a rival bidding on the Brisbane-tied onballer with Pick 1 would come as a surprise.
Richmond have been afforded the luxury of having three other Pick 1 prospects feature in their VFL side over the past month, with local ball magnet Jagga Smith doing his stocks no harm across a trio of appearances against Williamstown, Collingwood and Sandringham at the state league level.
Smith's Oakleigh Chargers teammate and fellow top draft chance Finn O'Sullivan joined him in pulling on the yellow and black in the loss to the Zebras, with the Koroit junior having an impact on the scoreboard with multiple majors to his name from a dozen touches.
Larke Medal winner Harvey Langford took their place over the weekend in Richmond's VFL win over Carlton's reserves, with the Dandenong Stingrays star bringing his skills to Princes Park.
A teenager who could be in the Tigers' sights with their second selection at the draft was a promising light in that same VFL game, with Bendigo Pioneers flanker Tobie Travaglia collecting 22 disposals for the Blues in their final match of the season under coach Luke Power.
Travaglia has a balance of speed and ball-winning nous that not many have been able to match this year, showing great signs across every level he has competed in to add to a bottom-age campaign that saw him net the Pioneers' best and fairest in 2023 - a season he shared with West Coast sensation Harley Reid at Bendigo.
Gippsland's Xavier Lindsay has proven to be a versatile threat as both an inside and outside midfielder option who can also slot into a half-back role, much like the move that has triggered stellar AFL career starts for the likes of top four selections Nick Daicos, Harry Sheezel and Colby McKercher.
Travaglia's dash and clean ball work out of defence could have the draft star seen as Rioli's long-term replacement under Yze, with one of Smith, Langford, O'Sullivan or Eastern Ranges bull Josh Smillie likely to be Richmond's top selection.
Given the flush pool of prospects, one of those four could slide toward the Pick 10 mark, and if not, the likes of Vic Metro MVP Murphy Reid or South Adelaide ace Sid Draper could be up for grabs if Richmond want to further add to their engine room ensemble.
Langford's Stingrays teammate Cooper Hynes and the sidelined Taj Hotton are other potential options in the teens and 20s, but it could be GWS Rebels and Vic Country prospect Sam Lalor who falls high on Richmond's wish list among this year's goalkicking midfield assets. Lalor has proven to be a valuable front-half ball-winner for the Rebels, Vic Country, the AFL Academy and Geelong Grammar.
Key position stocks, namely forward targets, are also sure to be in Richmond's planning come the draft window, with the initially midfield-heavy class of 2024 having seen several tall forwards blossom over the course of the year.
Whitlock brothers Jack and Matt have proven to be quite the handful for defenders, using their 200cm statures to dominate in the air, with Matt also able to swing into defence when needed.
GWV spearhead Jonty Faull could be an option for the Tigers to call on, while Sandringham's Harry Armstrong might warrant a top 10 pick on the opening night of the draft.
Bendigo's Jobe Shanahan might've edged out the likes of Smith, Ashcroft, Travaglia and Langford as the best-performing draft prospect to play in the VFL this year, having featured in three games for Essendon reserves for a return of 11 goals to increase his value during the back-end of the season.
Shanahan could be around the Pick 20 range, with the Tigers currently owners of one of the more sought-after selections - Pick 21, currently.
That pick will open the second night of the National Draft, giving Richmond nearly 24 hours to field offers from rival clubs keen to pay a premium and get themselves to the front of the queue for a draftee yet to be taken.
That selection could see the Tigers potentially bolster their hand further in the second round, or strengthen their assortment of selections for 2025.
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