AFL: Gary Buckenara analyses Richmond’s list after the 2022 season
Richmond will have to pay up for Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper, but they have to smart. Here’s how they can turbo charge the Tiger midfield without selling the farm.
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Richmond underachieved again this season.
Given the top-end strength of their list on paper, the Tigers should have been a top-four side enjoying the double chance this September.
They boast as much A-grade talent as just about any side in the league – a total of 27 A, B-grade and rising star players.
It makes me question whether the hunger and appetite is still there.
Time is marching on for this group.
The age demographic of the list is a worry. There is a real concern with the age of this group that it could drop off very quickly.
With their top-end talent, a fair amount is going to disappear over the next year or two and if there’s nothing coming through, it could spell trouble.
Right now, the number of developing players on the Tigers’ list is skinny.
They have already bid farewell to a trio of premiership stars in Shane Edwards, Kane Lambert and Josh Caddy this year.
Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt will continue next season, as will Dustin Martin, despite the speculation about his future.
Cotchin will turn 33 next year and Riewoldt is 34 next month, but I still rate both of them as A-graders.
They have earned that rating for consistent performance over a long period of time, but at a club level you are probably not relying on them to win games for you any more.
The former captain is not having the influence he once had and Riewoldt’s output is also not what it used to be, but the Tigers are obviously trying to hang on to retain their list depth.
It would not surprise if their games were managed next year – they might have talked about playing 10-15 matches – and that’s why they probably accepted having a cut to their salary.
The pursuit of GWS pair Jacob Hopper and Tim Taranto shows the Tigers do not have any immediate plans to enter a youth-led reinvigoration of their list and that they plan to hang on with the current group to try and win another flag.
The Giants’ pair, who have both nominated Punt Rd as their preferred trade destination, can help re-energise Richmond’s midfield.
Shai Bolton has assumed the mantle as the Tigers’ new superstar in Martin’s disrupted year.
He has elevated his game to another level and is getting a bit of attention, but is handling it well and has taken on that A-grade rating because of that.
There are several Tigers on the fringe of the A-grade ratings who just missed the cut.
Daniel Rioli has had quite a consistent season after moving to a new role at half-back, but I would like to see him have another year like that and he would then push himself into the A-grade category.
Jayden Short is also probably on the borderline of being an A-grade player. If I was doing B-plus, he would have had that rating. His output is strong and he is a dangerous player because he is such a beautiful kick.
Dion Prestia is another, but he is 30 next month and is always seems to be battling soft-tissue injury problems. He has the ability to be an A-grader but because he has lacked that consistency in his game due to his body breakdowns, he is rated as a B-grader.
Noah Balta is only 22 and has got real athleticism, but he drops out of games too often. If he could get himself a bit fitter and find a bit more of an engine, he is a powerful player and could be an A-grade player of the future.
Of the rising stars, I think Josh Gibcus will develop into a ripper, Maurice Rioli Jr has shown some class and is another future A-grader, and Tyler Sonsie is showing enough at the level and should elevate himself to at least B-grade in time.
HOW THE RATINGS WORK
At a club level, player ranking is generally based on gradings of A+, A, B+, B, C+, C and the developing players.
My rankings will focus on A, B, C and for the developing 20-year-old and under players will be rated as rising stars (RS) and those that need more time (NMT).
With the younger players, it is important to consider who is coming through and those who need longer to develop.
The most important areas for clubs to look at is how many A and B ranked players they have as well as the rising stars, who I believe should be A and B-grade players in the future.
RATING THE LIST
A
Nick Vlastuin, 28
Dylan Grimes, 30
Dustin Martin, 30
Liam Baker, 24
Jack Riewoldt, 33
Trent Cotchin, 32
Tom Lynch, 29
Toby Nankervis, 27
Shai Bolton, 23
B
Dion Prestia, 29
Jack Ross, 21
Robbie Tarrant, 33
Jason Castagna, 25
Jayden Short, 26
Jake Aarts, 27
Daniel Rioli, 25
Noah Balta, 22
Riley Collier-Dawkins, 22
Kamdyn McIntosh, 28
Jack Graham, 24
Nathan Broad, 29
Noah Cumberland, 21
Marlion Pickett, 30
C
Ivan Soldo, 26
Rhyan Mansell, 22
Samson, Ryan, 21
Will Martyn, 21
Mate Colina, 23
Sydney Stack, 22
Ben Miller, 22
Bigoa Nyoun, 21
Developing (20 years and under)
Rising stars
Josh Gibcus, 19
Tyler Sonsie, 19
Hugo Ralphsmith, 20
Maurice Rioli, 19
Needs more time
Thomson Dow, 20
Tom Brown, 18
Sam Banks, 19
Judson Clarke, 18
Jacob Bauer, 19
Retired: Shane Edwards, Josh Caddy, Kane Lambert, Matthew Parker
Delisted: None yet
LIST BREAKDOWN
A-Grade: 9
B-Grade: 14
C-Grade: 8
Developing (20 years and under)
Rising stars: 4
Need more time: 5
LIST NEEDS
Age is catching up quickly with this group. The Tigers will need to reinvigorate the list with some young talent sooner rather than later. The lack of rising stars and players that need more time in their development phase – nine in total – is far too thin.
In a strong 2022 draft, the Tigers should be looking to try to add some top-40 selections. There are 10 players on the list who will be in the 29-34 age bracket next season and I feel the list is long overdue for a freshen up. The defence is the biggest area of concern, with players breaking down in key positions. I consider Robbie Tarrant only a short-term player – his body hasn’t been great – and co-captain Dylan Grimes has also had his injury troubles. Tarrant turns 34 next year and Grimes will be turning 32. Noah Balta could turn into that powerful, key-position defender – I would keep him down back rather than switching him between defence and the forward line – while Gibcus can take a key backline post in time.
If Ivan Soldo leaves in the trade period a developing ruckman could be on the wish list given Samson Ryan and Mate Colina have played one AFL game between them and the lost Callum Coleman-Jones and Mabior Chol last year.
THE GIANT COUP
My focus would be to bring in young talent rather than trading out picks for experienced players, but the opportunity to land a prime pair such as Giants’ midfielders Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper is one the Tigers can’t pass up. They will be 25 and 26 next year, so they are still going to deliver plenty of upside.
Adding those two players is definitely going to give the Tigers more midfield strength, but it is also going to require a reasonable outlay. It is probably going to cost Richmond two first-round picks – one this year and one next year – and possibly a second or a third-round pick somewhere along the line to get it done, which reduces the opportunity to bring in young talent at the draft. Spreading it over two years makes sense, it’s just a matter of working out the combination of picks they are going to have to give up to get the deals done.
But it is a strong draft and fairly deep, so if they could keep their second or third pick, that is still going to net them a reasonable player. That is what I would be aiming for, trying to get a good young player as well as Taranto and Hopper.
Seven-year deals for me are too much, ideally it would be five. Seven pushes them to 32, 33 years of age and we know that’s when bodies start to break down, so you are playing with a bit of fire. But they would be bringing in two good players that are going to help their cause now, and they can worry about the future down the track.
Soldo has been mentioned as a player who could be part of a trade and Riley Collier-Dawkins is yet to re-sign, but I rate him and wouldn’t let him go. A former pick 20, he hasn’t cemented his spot in the team yet but given the age imbalance of the list the Tigers should hang onto their best young midfield prospect.
DUSTY DEAL
After a season of speculation about Dustin Martin’s future, all the indications are that the triple Norm Smith medallist is set to remain at Punt Rd in a major boost to the club’s hopes of staying in the premiership frame. Still with two more years to run on his contract, it raises the question how can the Tigers manage his deal, particularly with two potentially big offers for Hopper and Taranto also coming into the mix, to ensure they don’t lose any more of their young guns?
They could potentially increase his deal to three years and spread the payments out over another three seasons. That would then give them some relief to help keep some of their younger players. But the Tigers would be mindful that by doing that, they are not going to play him every week towards the end.
He is such a dangerous one-out forward where he can kick goals, he might find himself playing a lot of that role with bursts in the midfield. If he gets his body right and they manage him well, he is still a matchwinner forward for them.
CRYSTAL BALL
There is enough talent still at Richmond for this team to be a contender again and if they can get Taranto and Hopper, I would put my money on them making the eight again.
With their trade targets, it is clear that they are going for another shot at it with this group.
But there remains a real concern with the age of the list that it could drop off very quickly and the time is coming for the Tigers to reinvigorate their list with some young talent again.
With 27 A, B and rising star players, they should have performed far better in the past two seasons and the Tigers would be ruing their close elimination-final loss to Brisbane.
Luck with injuries was not kind to Richmond this year, and keeping a fit list will be crucial to contending next season.
Many of their injury worries surrounded their older players breaking down, again highlighting the demographic of the list. Injuries to Martin, Toby Nankervis, Prestia, Grimes, Cotchin, Edwards and Lambert at different stages this year hurt the Tigers, making it hard to get continuity of performance.
When the returning players are fully fit again, the Tigers can be a contender again as long as there is a hunger to succeed.
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Originally published as AFL: Gary Buckenara analyses Richmond’s list after the 2022 season
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