In a special series leading up to the 2017 AFL national draft, richmondfc.com.au has been examining the Tigers’ construction of their drought-breaking premiership team this year via the competition’s main talent acquisition pathway throughout the past decade. We conclude today by taking a look at Richmond’s recruitment of Jack Graham.
Richmond was delighted to use its second pick (No. 53 overall) in the 2016 AFL National Draft on young, tough inside midfielder Jack Graham from SANFL club North Adelaide.
The Tigers had closely tracked Graham progress for a couple of years, and they were convinced that he was an absolute bargain pick-up so late in the draft.
Post-draft, then newly-appointed Richmond Recruiting Manager Matthew Clarke outlined the reasons why Graham could have an instant impact in the AFL competition.
“Jack’s got a mature body . . . The knock on him might have been, has he got a lot (of growth) left in his body? He’s probably not going to grow much taller or get much bigger – but he doesn’t need to,” Clarke said.
“The thing about Jack is his ability to transition-run defensively, as a midfielder, was as good as we’ve seen in a long, long time.
“A lot of the boys at junior level tend to just go chasing the ‘pill’ and get it forward and kick a goal. But Jack’s ability to stick his head down, turn the other way and run back, was as good as we’d seen in this draft pool. And his GPS numbers were off the clock compared to most other boys in the group.
“So we’re really excited to have him.
“He was State (SA) under-18 captain this year and has impressive leadership qualities.
“One of our guys that works over there (in Adelaide), said they hadn’t seen one of the SA (under-18) captains like him in the last 10 years . . .
“He’s one of those guys that grabbed the players after the coach had spoken to them just to say, ‘Okay boys, this is what we’re doing, so let’s get on board’.”
Clarke is convinced Graham possesses the necessary attributes to play a decent chunk of senior football with Richmond in season 2017.
“I think because of his running ability to keep him in the game,” Clarke said.
“And Jack’s a super competitor. He tackles fiercely, he crashes in, he forces turnover, contested ball.
“If you win contested ball, can tackle and can run, you give yourself a chance to play at the elite level.”
Graham told ‘Roar Vision’, upon arrival at Tigerland, what Yellow and Black barrackers could expect to see from him on the field of battle . . .
“Just hard at the ball, in and under. I like contested possessions, but also a mix and match of inside and outside play,” he said.
He also revealed his pre-season goals during that interview . . .
“Just get as fit as I can and earn the respect of all the boys, the coaches, and all the staff. Then, just put my best foot forward and try and aim for that spot to play Round 1. That’s the goal. It’s pretty high, but I like to set them high, so I can achieve them,” he said.
Jack Graham AFL fact file
Debut: Round 22, 2017 v Fremantle, Domain Stadium
Games: 5
Goals: 5
Honours: Member of Richmond’s 2017 premiership team
