Trade period reignites Tigers
2:50:43 PM Fri 8 October, 2004
Richmond coach Terry Wallace
richmondfc.com.au
From the moment Brad Ottens made up his mind he wanted to leave the Richmond Football Club, we were determined to use that decision as a launching pad to rejuvenate our playing list.
At the end of a hectic trade week, I am pleased to tell Tiger fans that the Club’s done a fantastic job to secure two first-round draft picks, plus Troy Simmonds as a replacement for Brad.
To now have five selections inside the first 20 at the November 20 National Draft provides us with a wonderful opportunity for long-term list development.
In exchange for Brad, our aim was to get as deep down into the first round of the draft as we possibly could. We’ve managed that with picks 12 and 16, to add to our choices at No. 1 and No. 4.
There were a lot of people in the football media who thought our bid for two first-round choices in a trade deal for Brad was too ambitious and doomed to fail. They pointed to the fact that Hawthorn didn’t get two first-round picks for Nathan Thompson. The Hawks got a first-round selection and a second-round selection from the Kangaroos, so the general consensus was that we wouldn’t be able to get significantly better than that for Brad.
Well, with a lot of hard work and perseverance from Greg Miller, Greg Beck and Paul Armstrong, we were able to bite off those two first-round selections. We’re now very, very deep into the draft and we are going to have our future champions developed at the Richmond Football Club, which is great news for all Tiger fans.
And, from a shorter-term perspective at Tigerland, to secure a player of Troy Simmond’s calibre is a real coup. There were a lot of clubs chasing him – and a lot of clubs very disappointed not to get him.
Troy has shown real faith in the Richmond Football Club, given where we are coming from, in 16th place on the ladder and I think that’s a terrific endorsement of us.
In Troy, we believe we have a big man who can do an equivalent job to Brad Ottens. Not only does he have a strong presence in the ruck, but he’s also a proven goalkicker.
I see him playing both roles for us next season and his inclusion in the side is important for engendering some immediate hope. You can’t just rely solely on kids for a boost. Port Adelaide, for example, had only three players under 24 in their premiership line-up this year. If you go out and just get 17 and 18-year-olds, it can be a long, long, long process.
Our supporters want to see us out there competitive, hungry and fighting straight away, but also with the knowledge that there’s a very, very healthy future as well.
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