Tyrone Vickery, Ben Griffiths among Richmond’s list management dilemmasJake Niall, Adam Baldwin, Riley Beveridge
Foxsports
May 18, 2016WHILE attention has been focused on Damien Hardwick this season, there are more questions surrounding a sizeable group of uncontracted senior Richmond players in 2016.
The Tigers have 10 players coming out of contract who either have been — or are becoming — regulars in their senior 22 this year. It is a situation that industry insiders view as favourable to the Tigers, who need flexibility to make trades and improve their fragile list and have secured all of their stars.
Of that ten players coming out of contract, three are youngsters who are assured of being offered deals and are clearly part of the club’s plans — Nick Vlastuin, Corey Ellis and Conor Menadue. It is just a question of the terms that trio will be offered.
The remaining senior seven players consist of half a dozen talls — Tyrone Vickery is a restricted free agent this year, while one of the heroes of the upset over Sydney, forward Ben Griffiths, remains out of contract, as do ruckman Shaun Hampson and key back David Astbury.
The half dozen talls out of contract are completed by the veteran pair of Ivan Maric and Troy Chaplin, whose both turned 30 this year and whose future beyond this year is doubtful, given that both have been dropped to the VFL in the course of the club’s disappointing first eight rounds.
Midfielder Shaun Grigg, who has been an automatic selection, is also without a contract for 2017 at this stage.
Griffiths, still just 24, has shown talent — he booted five goals against the Swans in a match-turning performance — but has struggled for consistency. As a tall forward, he attracted interest from rival clubs, including the Bulldogs, when he signed a two-year deal in late 2014.
Vickery has improved over the past 18 months and is well regarded by the Tigers, but is still a free agent. It is noteworthy that Vickery and Griffiths play somewhat similar roles — and Richmond would surely want to retain at least one of them.
Hampson has not been a consistent performer in the ruck, but his position is strengthened by the apparent decline of Maric. It is possible, though, that Richmond could look for another ruck in the trading/free agency market. Young tall forward Liam McBean is also out of contract.
The Tigers have all of their elite “fab five’’ - Alex Rance, Brett Deledio, Jack Riewoldt, Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin — under contract for 2017.
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