Why Richmond must be wary despite putting together an “all-time draft hand”By Lachlan Geleit
SEN
12 Oct 2024Richmond could be set to put together one of the ‘all-time great draft hands’ according to SEN regular and Nine’s Tom Morris.
As things stand, the Tigers already hold Pick 1 and 24 inside the first 25 picks but could add another six in that bracket with Daniel Rioli, Liam Baker and Shai Bolton all set to depart the club with picks coming back the other way.
With a glut of selections in a supposedly strong draft, the 2024 off-season could be the launching pad for Richmond to truly rebuild just a few years after winning three premierships in four seasons.
While it appears a golden opportunity for the Tigers, Morris thinks they should seriously consider trading some of those selections for early picks in the 2025 Draft instead to spread out their incoming youngsters and ensure they’re not all out of contract at once.
He discussed Richmond’s draft plans and how he expects the club to attack their off-season with Garry Lyon on SEN Breakfast.
Morris: “Richmond are putting together one of the all-time great draft hands if they can be shrewd here.
“My information is the Tigers don't want to really start trading in earnest until at the very least Friday, but probably next week.
“They could easily bundle up Pick 32, 42, 43 and 45 for Brisbane’s Pick 20 which is up for sale because they need points for Levi Ashcroft and Sam Marshall.”
Lyon: “Jay Clark is reporting that Richmond could have Picks 1, 6, 10, 14, 18, 20, 23, 24 - that’s potentially what Adem Yze and the list management group are going to have at their disposal.
“Is that a good thing? Where does it sit?”
Morris: “I think that's a good thing, but you just need to be wary. The Giants went through this, if you have too many first-round picks in one year, what happens is in three or four years' time, they all come out of contract at the one time.
“Then you've all got to pay them absurd amounts of money to keep them, and you can’t keep them all, which is what happened to the Giants.”
Lyon: “Aren't you going to the negative here? Saying, ‘Oh, the problem is we're going to have all these great players’, what a great problem to have.”
Morris: “Yeah, until you lose half of them because you can't afford them, so do it (use the first-round picks) over two years.
“I would say do it over two years and stagger it. Have four first-round picks one year and four first-round picks the next year - that’s your rebuild - rather than eight in one year.
“That’s, I think, what the Tigers could be looking at.”
The 2024 AFL Draft begins on Wednesday, November 20 at Marvel Stadium.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2024/10/10/why-richmond-must-be-wary-despite-putting-together-an-all-time-draft-hand/
