In the wake of the AFL’s 2016 drafts, Tony Greenberg delves deep to provide Yellow and Black devotees with some interesting Tiger tidbits.
Young, inside midfielder Jack Graham is the third Larke Medallist to be drafted by Richmond.
The Tigers’ second pick in the 2016 AFL National Draft won this year’s Larke Medal, as the best player in the under-18 national championships.
He captained South Australia and also was selected in the under-18 All-Australian team.
Richmond’s two other Larke Medallists were ruckman Patrick Steinfort, for Vic Metro in 1996, and Kayne Pettifer, for Vic Country, in 2000.
Steinfort was plagued with injuries during his time at Tigerland and didn’t manage to make a senior appearance.
Pettifer played 113 senior games and kicked 132 goals in a nine-year career with Richmond.
The Larke Medal has proven a fairly reliable guide to success at the game’s highest level, with winners such as Carlton’s Marc Murphy (2005), Geelong’s Tom Hawkins (2006), Melbourne’s Jack Watts (2008), Gold Coast’s David Swallow (2009), Greater Western Sydney pair Stephen Coniglio (2011) and Lachie Whitfield (2012), West Coast’s Dom Sheed (2013), Melbourne’s Christian Petracca (2014) and Brisbane’s Josh Schache (2015) during the past few years.
The recruitment of Jack Graham and rookie selection Tyson Stengle brings to six the number of players from SANFL ranks now at Richmond.
Graham (North Adelaide) and Stengle (Woodville-West Torrens) join Shane Edwards (North Adelaide), Oleg Markov (North Adelaide), Steven Morris (West Adelaide) and Ivan Maric (Port Adelaide Magpies, when he wasn’t playing for the Crows).
Richmond’s WAFL connection is nearly as strong, with five current-day Tigers having come out of the WA football system – Alex Rance (Swan Districts), Nathan Broad (Swan Districts), Reece Conca (Perth), Kamdyn McIntosh (Peel Thunder) and now Shai Bolton (South Fremantle).
Jack Graham also becomes the third player with that surname to be recruited by Richmond over the past decade or so.
He joins King Island ruckman Angus Graham, who played 48 games for the Tigers from 2007-12, and defender Mark Graham, who played 20 games in his one season wearing the Yellow and Black, in 2005, following a 223-game career at Hawthorn.
Although Richmond’s third pick in the 2016 National Draft Ryan Garthwaite attracted the attention of the Tiger talent scouts with his impressive efforts as a key defender for Murray Bushrangers, he spent his entire junior career up the other end of the ground until joining the TAC Cup team a couple of years ago.
And, despite his unconventional (many might say awkward) kicking style, Garthwaite managed to boot quite a few goals as a forward at junior level.
To underline his capacity to score six-pointers, Garthwaite finished equal second in the goalkicking test held at the AFL’s Draft Combine back in October, with an overall total of 25.
That test requires players to have five shots at goal, comprising two set shots, a running shot, and a snap off each foot.
Garthwaite also finished equal first in the clean hands test at the Combine, with players required to handball towards six different targets – three on each side of their body. Each handball receives a rating between zero (fail) and five (excellent).
Among the many messages of congratulations Tyson Stengle received after being selected by Richmond in the recent rookie draft, was one extra special one.
Stengle took a phone call from his uncle and Sydney Swans great Michael O’Loughlin.
“Michael rang to congratulate me,” Stengle told Adelaide’s ‘Messenger Community News’.
“He just told me to put my head down and work hard.”
O’Loughlin played 303 games and kicked 521 goals in a decorated AFL career with the Swans. He was a key member of their 2005 premiership side, a dual All-Australian representative, Best and Fairest winner, Indigenous Team of the Century member, and an Australian Hall of Fame inductee.
Richmond continued a recent trend of choosing a player whose surname ends with the letter n with its first pick in the National Draft.
Shai Bolton, taken at pick 29 overall by the Tigers in the 2016 National Draft, joins Club captain Trent Cotchin (2007 draft), Dustin Martin (2009 draft), Nick Vlastuin (2012 draft) and Ben Lennon (2013 draft).
