Richmond’s second selection in the recent 2011 AFL National Draft, Todd Elton, has had the ideal grounding for his crack at the game’s highest level . . .

The polite, well-spoken 18-year-old has played football for Frankston High School, four different junior clubs - Tyabb, Frankston Dolphins, Somerville and Dandenong Stingrays - represented Vic Metro, as well as Vic Country, and has been through the AIS program, where he was mentored by the likes of AFL greats Michael O’Loughlin, Tom Harley, Matthew Lloyd and Brett Kirk.

At 197cm and 90kg, the forward/ruckman has been likened to St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt and Essendon’s young gun big man Patrick Ryder, due to his athleticism.

“I have been complimented on my match endurance and I really like to use my tank to push up the ground ahead of the play,” he said.

“I’m pretty agile for my size, I’d say my versatility’s pretty good, and I’m strong overhead with my marking.”

Elton tested well at the AFL Draft Combine in October, recording a sprint time of 2.93 seconds, an 8.2 in the agility test and 13.5 in the beep test.

The Tiger talent scouts had been keeping a close watch on Elton for quite some time, and had no hesitation in selecting him at pick 26 overall on Draft night.

“It’s a privilege to get drafted to Richmond, and I’m definitely looking forward to the opportunities,” he said.

“I want to try and work on my body, get a bit of body size up and bring up my fitness.  I definitely want to give it a red-hot crack for Round 1.”blog comments powered by Disqus