There is a view being expressed by sections of the AFL football media that Richmond has “sold the farm for one last flag crack”.
Such opinion is based on the Club’s recruitment of star midfield pair Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper from Greater Western Sydney during the recent trade period, with both players receiving seven-year deals at Tigerland.
The criticism of Richmond’s list-management strategy is uninformed.
Just a little bit of research by those media members would reveal that the Tigers secured five young players in the top 30 of last year’s national draft – Josh Gibcus, Tom Brown, Tyler Sonsie, Sam Banks and Judson Clarke.
Three of those talented Tiger cubs – Gibcus, Sonsie and Clarke – debuted at AFL level during the 2022 season, along with Bigoa Nyuon and Noah Cumberland, while Brown and Banks showed plenty of promise at VFL level.
All five of the 2021 draftees have had their playing contracts extended, in a clear sign of how highly rated they are within the Club.
“We made an investment in the draft last year and it’s good to get those guys locked away long term,” Richmond’s general manager of football talent Blair Hartley said on the post-season special episode of the Club’s Talking Tigers podcast.
“They’ve all shown great signs and they’re important to our future.
“We’re looking forward to what they bring us next year . . .
“We’ve been fortunate enough to go to the draft while we’ve been in that position of contending because the salary cap and draft system almost dictates that you do overspend, you do top up and you keep trying to top up, and then you fall off the cliff. We’ve been trying to buck that trend as best we can.”
There is considerable depth within Richmond’s department of youth, as the line-up below shows.
It is a team consisting of Tiger players who will be 25 years of age or under at Round 1 next season.
Backs: Rhyan Mansell, Josh Gibcus, Bigoa Nyuon
Half-backs: Liam Baker, Noah Balta, Daniel Rioli
Centreline: Jack Ross, Tyler Sonsie, Hugo Ralphsmith
Half-forwards: Jack Graham, Jacob Bauer, Judson Clarke
Forwards: Maurice Rioli Jr, Noah Cumberland, Ben Miller
Followers: Samson Ryan, Tim Taranto, Shai Bolton
IC: Thomson Dow, Tom Brown, Sam Banks, Mate Colina
Five members of that side are Richmond premiership players – Baker (2019, 2020), Balta (2020), D. Rioli (2071, 2019. 2020), Graham (2017, 2020) and Bolton (2019, 2020), while Taranto was a member of the GWS team that lost the 2019 Grand Final to the Tigers, and he won the Giants’ best and fairest that year.
To suggest it’s a case of all or nothing for Richmond in 2023 is way off the mark.
Yes, the Tigers have several stalwarts in the twilight of their illustrious league football careers (and still capable of playing very good football), but the foundations at Punt Road are solid, with so many young players stepping up, or ready to emerge.
