Richmond's General Manager of Football, Neil Balme, says the Tigers’ number one ruckman, Toby Nankervis, will receive plenty of ruck support in 2019.
Balme spoke to 6PR on Tuesday morning, saying he was pleased with the depth of Richmond’s current ruck stocks.
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He said the Tigers possess a number of players who are capable of supporting Nankervis, and the Club would be confident playing them in place of him if required.
“We’ve got a couple of players that we would be happy to play,” Balme said.
“We’ve got a couple of young kids, Callum Coleman-Jones is a 201cm kid who’s had a terrific pre-season and is a natural ruckman/forward, so he could play if we needed him to, and Ivan Soldo, he’s had a pretty good pre-season as well.
“We would have no problems playing (Soldo) if we had to but we tend to not play two ruckmen, that’s why he doesn’t get a turn."
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While veteran Tiger Shaun Grigg has often taken on the role of Richmond's back-up ruck, Balme forecasted Noah Balta and Mabior Chol as another two who could step up.
“Noah Balta, he’s 6.5 and a really good jumper at the ball and even could actually do the job, even Mabior Chol could do the job,” Balme said.
“But the way Nank plays, he’s so tough and he doesn’t give anyone else an opportunity to play.
“We’ve got a couple who can do the job without any doubt.”
