Richmond’s National Recruiting Manager Matthew Clarke provides Richmond Media with an overview of what he expects from the 2019 NAB AFL Draft to be held at Marvel Stadium on Wednesday and Thursday.

What are your thoughts on the talent available in this year’s draft crop?

"We think it’s a pretty even group and there’s some players at the top end that are really talented. Just beyond that, there’s a really even group there, so we’re pretty comfortable where we’re selecting that there’ll be a good player or two that will come in to bolster our list both on and off the field."

Do you expect a quality player to still be available at pick 19?

"We do, we’ve got a number of players that are rated around that pick. We may be able to move that pick, obviously with the new rules you can trade on the night and before the second night starts as well. We’ll look to see what happens on the night but it’s pretty fluid at the moment."

Will you looking to select the best player available or do you have specific needs in mind?

"We definitely have specific traits in mind…We’ll have a look at the draft and see what’s there on the night. It’s really hard to tell what might fall through, so there might be some players that we rate there which will get through to our pick, and there might be some other ones taken a bit earlier, so we’ll have a look at it on the night."

Do you expect to fill most of Richmond's available spots at the draft? 

"We’ve got some spots available... (We have) our first pick and then we’ve got three picks in the late thirties into the fourties and another pick in the fifties. So, we’ll probably fill most of those spots on the night."

Do you think the strategies of clubs such as Geelong and Port Adelaide, who have multiple picks before our first pick, will have an impact on the type of player still available when it is our turn to select?

"Definitely, there are clubs that have got multiple picks (before Richmond in the first round), Geelong, Port Adelaide, Melbourne, Fremantle, and Gold Coast with the first two. They may not necessarily pick what they rate as the best player, they might be looking at combination of types of players. It just depends on what we would like at our pick. But there’s a chance there’ll be some good players that we rate a bit earlier fall through to us as well. It’s pretty fluid on the night, we’ll wait and see what gets through, but we’re pretty confident there’ll be a good player there for us."

Across the second and third rounds, we have three selections in four picks. I can imagine that gives you great flexibility from a pool of players to select from over those three picks, but also the potential of packaging them to other clubs?

"That is a possibility. We think the group is very even around those picks as well. So, we’re pretty confident there’ll be a couple of players there that we like. But there's also a chance on the night, and on Thursday night as well, that we might be able to move those picks and get a bit higher in the draft, but we’ll have to wait and see."