Ty Vickery and Richmond in no rush for new contractDaniel Cherny
The Age
24 April 2016Richmond have started preliminary contract talks with forward Ty Vickery, but neither party appears to be in a hurry for a new deal to be signed.
Vickery is one of a host of Tigers whose contracts expire at season's end. He is also a restricted free agent, meaning he can walk if Richmond are unwilling to match another club's bid for his services.
It's understood both club and player will let the early part of the season unfold before talks ramp up between Richmond and Vickery's agent Winston Rous of Phoenix Sports Management.
Other Tigers whose deals end this year include David Astbury, Jake Batchelor, Bachar Houli, Ivan Maric, Shaun Hampson and Kane Lambert.
The Tigers say they are pleased with Vickery's early-season form, despite the club's broader on-field malaise, which has left the Tigers languishing at 1-3 heading into Sunday night's clash against Melbourne at the MCG.
Vickery, 25, has seven goals from four games so far this year. He has moved through the ruck at times, spending much of last week's game in that position after Hampson's involvement was ended through injury. Vickery's pre-season was interrupted after a mysterious incident during a NAB Challenge game against Fremantle which left him in a disoriented state.
The tall said on Friday that his form thus far in the campaign had been mixed. "I suppose it's been a bit reflective of the team. I've had some patches but throughout the whole game I haven't probably been as consistent as I need to be," Vickery said.
"I've got a role to play up forward, I need to keep getting to contests, and making them for the other players, and being really strong in them."
A first-round draft pick in 2008, Vickery has played 106 games across his seven and a bit seasons at Punt Road.
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