Richmond list dilemma: How Tigers can learn lessons from Hawthorn’s post-dynasty decisions

Richmond believe it's sitting pretty with a raft of picks and some talented youngsters. These are tomorrow’s stars that can help them remain in contention.

Alastair Clarkson sold the dream at Hawthorn’s 2016 best and fairest count. Picture: Eugene Hyland

Alastair Clarkson stood at the Crown Palladium dais and declared Hawthorn’s golden era wasn’t over.

“We’re ready to reload,” Clarkson told supporters at the 2016 best-and-fairest count, which was held three weeks after the club’s straight-sets finals exit.

“I know the footy world out there are saying, ‘2016, thank god Hawthorn didn’t win it’.

“We’re saying, ‘Get ready – we’re coming again in 2017.”

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Alastair Clarkson sold the dream at Hawthorn’s 2016 best and fairest count. Picture: Eugene Hyland

Clarkson’s confidence was fuelled by the knowledge that Tom Mitchell (Sydney) and Jaeger O’Meara (Gold Coast) would request trades to Waverley and they would sign Ty Vickery (Richmond) as a free agent.

“Players want to come to this footy club because of (then-fitness boss) Andrew Russell and his team,” Clarkson said.

“Wrighty, (then-list manager Graham Wright) get to work, lad. You’ve got some important stuff to do over the next couple of weeks.”

To secure Mitchell and O’Meara, Clarkson and Wright traded out Bradley Hill, pick 14, pick 36, Hawthorn’s future first-round selection and its future second-round selection.

In order, those picks were used on Todd Marshall (Port Adelaide), Josh Battle (St Kilda), Hunter Clark (St Kilda) and Liam Ryan (West Coast).

Aaron Naughton (Western Bulldogs) was available at the Clark pick, which was No.7 in 2017.

But the Hawks crashed to 1-5 (17th) early in 2017. Five years on they are yet to win a final and haven’t recovered.

Ty Vickery played just six games for the Hawks. He was signed as potential cover for Jarryd Roughead, who made a full recovery to captain Hawthorn in 2017.

North Melbourne’s gutsy win on Monday night has Clarkson in danger of securing the club’s first wooden spoon since 1965.

Richmond currently holds draft picks No.7, 16, 26, 29, 42 and 44 in this year’s draft, having cleverly shuffled last year’s first-rounder into this year’s draft.

The Hawks boldly traded out all of their valued selections in 2016, 2017 and 2018. What will the Tigers do with their draft hand?

Polished and pure midfielder Adam Cerra, 21, (Fremantle) would probably cost Richmond a first-rounder plus maybe a second-rounder and, while that would be the same price as O’Meara, the Hawks had to offload six picks in two previous deals so they could satisfy Gold Coast and its headstrong chairman Tony Cochrane.

The Hawks had to trade out picks 48, 66 and 70 to secure another club’s future second-round selection before they could trade their own out for O’Meara under the AFL’s future trading rules.

Then again, Essendon didn’t give up a first-rounder for Jye Caldwell and, while Cerra has more runs on the board, the former Giant could wind up a better player.

Triple-premiership coach Damien Hardwick was asked on Friday whether the Tigers had studied the list management strategies of this century’s other champion teams.

Hardwick hinted the Tigers would do it their own way rather than obsess over rivals.

“We really rate the intelligence of our organisation,” Hardwick said.

“We’re a side that is well and truly in the window (but) we’ve also got a bevy of picks in this year’s draft.

“We’re really well-run in that space with Blair Hartley, Matty Clarke and Tim Livingstone who do a power of work in that space.

“We back them in to do a lot of work to make sure we stay at the top for as long as we possibly can.”

Nobody has a crystal ball and plenty thought Clarkson and Wright were geniuses in 2016. They had attracted a future Brownlow medallist and previous Rising Star winner and the Hawks are far from alone in aggressively topping up in pursuit of silverware.

Tom Mitchell won the 2018 Brownlow Medal, however, many rival clubs are happy to let him rack up disposals because they don’t believe he is overly damaging.

Collingwood’s $2 million four-year offer to Dayne Beams in 2018 backfired while in 2010 the Western Bulldogs, having lost three-straight preliminary finals, brought in Patrick Veszpremi, Justin Sherman and Nathan Djerrkura and rookie-listed Mitch Hahn and Ed Barlow for one more crack at a flag.

The Hawks eventually did a list U-turn and committed to draft young talent, which has seen them use their first two in each of the past two years.

They formed a “football subcommittee” to plot the path forward, which included Clarkson, football boss Rob McCartney, chief executive Justin Reeves and representatives from the board.

They’ve also navigated the loss of key personnel – Chris Fagan (Brisbane Lions) said goodbye to the players hours before the 2016 best-and-fairest, Russell joined Carlton after 2018 and Wright joined Collingwood this year.

Forward-turned-defender Liam Baker has played in two premierships and looks to be a star of the future for the Tigers as one of their many rookie draft success stories.

The Tigers believe they’re stable and sitting pretty as they hold six picks inside 50 and a clutch of bankable youngsters.

Tomorrow's stars aged 23 or under at Punt Rd include Liam Baker, Jack Graham, Shai Bolton, Callum Coleman-Jones, Riley Collier-Dawkins and Sydney Stack, although Coleman-Jones and Bolton remain unsigned.

Patrick Naish, Rhyan Mansell, Jack Ross, Hugo Ralphsmith, Will Martyn and Thomson Dow have all been exposed this year while emergencies Ben Miller and Maurice Rioli have been talked about at match committee.

If a few of those come on as well then it is hard to see the Tigers falling off the cliff. Particularly if, unlike the Hawks, they hold on to a handful of those precious draft picks.