Richmond’s General Manager – Football Talent, Dan Richardson, provides a summary of the Tigers’ transactions in the AFL’s 2016 trade period, including the acquisition of three players – Dion Prestia (from Gold Coast), Josh Caddy (Geelong) and Toby Nankervis (Sydney).
“We went into the trade period with a strategy to increase midfield depth, and with Ty (Vickery) moving on as a free agent, another forward-ruckman was a priority as well,” Richardson said.
“So we were able to bring in Dion (Prestia), who adds some real power running capacity . . . as well as Josh Caddy, who’s a strong-bodied midfielder, high contested-ball numbers at his best. And Toby Nankervis, a young ruckman, who played finals for Sydney this year, and showed that he can really compete already, really hard at AFL level . . .
“Dion’s a running machine. I think it’d be fair to say he’d be top one or two runners at the Club when he comes here . . . he was at the Gold Coast.
“Josh is a strong-bodied midfielder, but he moves okay as well.
“Both have genuinely high contested-ball numbers . . . so they provide that extra midfield depth.
“They can both play on a wing and move half-forward as well.
“I think as we’ve seen from the best teams, midfield depth you really can’t get enough of it, and that’s where the value in those two players comes.
“And, with Toby, he’s a left-footer, he’s also a big, strong body, but he moves well for a big guy, he’s very aggressive, very tough and competes really hard.
“He’ll do that, whether he’s playing as a key forward or in the ruck.
“So, it’s a really good outcome, balanced with, obviously, the loss of a champion for the Club in Brett (Deledio). But I guess that’s the age of free agency . . .
“With him coming out as a free agent at the end of next year, we felt that it was best to fulfil his desires to seek a fresh start. But, equally, to secure a first round pick from Geelong – and that will be dependent on Geelong’s finish next year – as well as a third round pick from GWS, is a satisfactory outcome in that regard as well.
“Clearly now we’ve got some good ruck depth. So Ivan (Maric), importantly, we signed on for another year, as we know, and Shaun Hampson, we know had a really solid year, this year. We certainly see Toby being able to complement those guys. And throw in Ivan Soldo, who’s still developing and young, and Ben Griffiths, who’s capable of playing that forward-ruck role as well. Competitions for spots will be tough in that area of the ground, but that’s a good thing for us.”
