A marked increase in his competitive levels, combined with the capacity to play a variety of on-field roles, has given developing Tiger ‘tall’ Todd Elton a real chance of making it at the game’s highest level.

The 197cm, 92kg Elton, who was selected by Richmond with its second pick (No. 26 overall) in the 2011 AFL National Draft, hasn’t managed a senior game with the Club since making his league debut in Round 14 of the 2012 season against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.

He’s spent the past two years working on his game at VFL level, but Richmond’s senior development coach, Mark Williams, believes he’s now making good progress and an AFL return isn’t far away for the 21-year-old.

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“This time last year, I had real doubts about his competitive nature.  But, with Ben Griffiths, we worked pretty diligently over the pre-season on that, almost to the detriment of anything else.  Let’s make sure he’s competitive, and I think he’s shown that in his ‘twos’ games this year,” Williams said.

“I think the best part about Todd is that he is versatile.

“He’s played forward, ruck and back, and I think to have that in his side is pretty cool.

“I would think before the end of the year he’d be given the opportunity to play (seniors) and show what he can do.

“He certainly can leap . . . he’s got great marking ability.

“He needs to keep working on his goalkicking, to make it more accurate and more consistent.  But, apart from that, he’s moving along in the right direction.

“Those tall, skinny kids take a bit of time to come on.

“I think, if you believe in them, and keep persisting, you can get great results in the end.”