Richmond’s recruiting manager, Francis Jackson, believes AFL newcomer Greater Western Sydney’s monopoly on the early selections in this year’s National Draft could work in the Club’s favour, with the Tigers’ first pick being at No. 15 overall.

“I think pick 15 is an interesting place to be because, obviously, we’re at the mercy of what the other clubs choose beforehand,” Jackson said in an interview with ‘Roar Vision’ on the Club’s website.

 “But, from our perspective, the fact that GWS actually have 11 of those (first) 14 picks means that they’re going to need to take different type players and different position types.

“That might be to our advantage, given a couple of players might slip through . . .

“We knew right from the beginning of last year this particular draft was not going to be very deep.  But there are certainly players there that we think can play . . .

“We’ll be confident that we’re going to get a good player there that will contribute over a long period to the Richmond Footy Club.”

Jackson also revealed the process the Club’s recruiting staff undergoes leading up to draft day . . .

“Throughout the year, obviously, we focus on what’s happening on the field,” he said.

“We code all of the kids’ games individually and we build up a database of each aspect of their footy, which paints a clearer picture to us when we’re making those final decisions and rankings. 

“And, then, we religiously watch those every week.  Each Tuesday, we pick up in excess of 30 games from around the country from Champion Data and we put them into our database, which builds an extensive information pack for us to look at each individual player.  So, it’s fairly detailed.

“Then, after the season, we get really focused in on the things that are happening off the field and really hone in on their personalities.

“We interview the kids, generally in their homes, we pore over their psych testing, which we place a great deal of emphasis on . . . and we also do a lot of other research as to their personal characteristics, which gives us a bit of an insight as to what type of off-field person they are, and how they can contribute to the Club.”