Josh Smillie(Pick 7)
Once touted as a possible no.1 pick, Smillie slid down the board after copping a few injuries during his draft year.
The Park Orchards and Eastern Ranges product has had his rookie year stalled by hamstring issues but has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to get his body right for the rigours of the AFL.
Richmond’s head of development, Sam Lonergan’s lowdownWhat stands out? His power around contests. He’s a powerful, strong, contested, inside midfielder who will bust packs open. He's got this great strength around being able to distribute by hand and foot from contests. What he showed in the pre-season, he was dominating training and turning heads very quickly.
What’s he like? Kind and caring. There's not many contested players that don't lead by actions. We're going to see strong leadership traits. I'm always big on gratitude and being humble for your position and the opportunity you've got, and he's shown great signs of a really caring, kind, humble mindset for the opportunity he's got.
Where will he play? There's an adaption period for someone of that size playing as an inside midfielder. Once he adapts to the difference from under 18s, he's going to be an exceptional player. I think we'll see some marking power as well in that position, just purely based on his size. He played a lot of forward as a kid.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2025/07/27/the-eight-tiger-cubs-leading-richmond-across-a-new-frontier
