Gary Buckenara analyses Richmond’s list after 2016 season

RICHMOND’s list lacks a combination of A and B-grade talent and their trade target shouldn’t be Travis Cloke but another Magpie instead. GARY BUCKENARA analyses Richmond’s list.

Richmond was one of the big disappointments of the 2016 season. Picture: Colleen Petch

THE TIGERS have been a disappointment this year and there’s no doubt internally they’d be disappointed with their performances.

If you go through the history of premiership teams and teams who have been successful, you find they all feature a good combination of A and B-grade players. You need at least 12-14 of them.

They need to be balanced — you can’t have one A-grader and 14 B’s. There needs to be a mix.

Looking at Richmond, they’ve got five genuine A-grade players in Trent Cotchin, Brett Deledio, Dustin Martin, Jack Riewoldt and Alex Rance.

But the problem with their list is they don’t have any real B-grade players. They’ve got too many guys who are just your soldiers, good honest players who play their role.

Daniel Rioli definitely has the potential to turn into an A or B-grade player, he has shown signs of brilliance and Nick Vlastuin is another who could become a B-grade player. Brandon Ellis plays OK at times but his kicking lets him down.

Dustin Martin is one of five genuine A-grade players on Richmond’s list. Picture: Colleen Petch

Then I go through the rest of the list and I don’t see most of the young guys getting out of that C-grade zone — they get a game every week but they’re not going to be stars.

The balance of the list is off — there’s too big a gap between the best and the rest. There are too many similar types like Shaun Grigg, Shane Edwards, Bachar Houli, Kane Lambert, Sam Lloyd, Anthony Miles, Taylor Hunt, Reece Conca and Corey Ellis.

SUN GONE: DION PRESTIA REQUESTS A TRADE

DROP THE PLANS: TIGERS URGED TO DUMP PRESTIA PLANS

ON THE MOVE? CLOKE MEETS WITH THREE CLUBS

To me, rebound defenders and players in general with good kicking skills need to be brought into the club. I like Connor Menadue, he’s a light body but has good endurance although he does need to work on his kicking, it can let him down at times.

Jayden Short and Jason Castagna are likely types — they should definitely be elevated to the senior list.

I know some have flagged the possibility of the Tigers rebuilding and using the likes of Martin, Deledio and Riewoldt to do it by trading them to get early picks but there’s no way I’d entertain that.

Daniel Rioli has the potential to develop into a star for the Tigers. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

The Tigers do need to invest in the draft but trading away their guns isn’t the way to do it.

We know they’re in for wantaway Sun Dion Prestia. He’s a borderline B to A-grade at the moment who should still improve because he’s young but I’ve got questions over whether he’s really the type of player they need.

Richmond’s pick No.6 is very valuable in this draft but the fact is they won’t get Prestia with their next pick — remember they haven’t got a second-round pick this year after trading it to Gold Coast as part of a complicated plan to satisfy Carlton for Chris Yarran.

If Prestia was in this year’s draft crop he’d probably be around that pick anyway so I’d say that’s a fair trade.

There are rumours about the Tigers looking at Travis Cloke and that coach Damien Hardwick has met with him, which would be a mistake in my opinion. He’d give them a presence, sure, but would it upset Riewoldt who plays his best footy closer to goal?

Tigers, forget the guy on the right. You need the guy on the left, Jarrod Witts. Picture: Colleen Petch

If the Tigers were to get Cloke, where does that leave their leading goalkicker? Cloke has to play close to goal but Riewoldt is nearly unbeatable when he’s one-on-one inside 50. So where does that leave it? I wouldn’t be going after him if I was at Richmond.

The player they should actually be targeting in a trade from Collingwood is Jarrod Witts. The 209cm ruckman isn’t getting opportunities at the Pies but is dominating at VFL level and he definitely addresses a need because Richmond’s ruck depth is a real problem.

Experienced rucks are hard to get so they’ve got to try and get one and Witts would be a very good fit.

WHAT THEY NEED

There’s no doubt the Tigers need key position players at both ends of the ground to give Riewoldt and Rance a bit more of a chop out. We’ve touched on the need for a ruckman because while Shaun Hampson improved this year, he’s biggest flaw still remains: He’s good with his tap work but aside from that he does nothing around the ground.

The Tigers need another ruckman despite Shaun Hampson shouldering the load this year. Picture: Colleen Petch.

What also lets them down is their kicking skills — they haven’t got the elite kicking players coming off halfback, although Yarran will be one of those if he can get himself right. Jake Bachelor isn’t a bad kick but outside speed and endurance with elite ball use is really lacking, it needs to be addressed.

WHO’S UNDER THE PUMP?

It’s interesting what they do with Yarran, do they persevere with him? Obviously he has great skill and he’s what they need but is he committed? Can you have a player who isn’t committed on your list? Andrew Moore came in from Port Adelaide but didn’t have much of an impact and only played five senior games and Steve Morris is a goer but he’s had to undergo a knee reconstruction and you wonder whether that could spell the end for him. He’s just another one of those depth-type players.

Nathan Broad was bought in last year as a mature-age player but only played one senior game so he needs to do more and Daniel Butler has been injured a fair bit in his first two years at the club so where does he sit? He’s an elite athlete in speed and endurance but is a poor kick.

Maboir Chol made his debut in Round 23, he has unbelievable talent but I don’t think he’s really that dedicated, so it’ll be interesting to see what they do with him.

Steve Morris ruptured his ACL this year. Picture: Michael Klein

WHO SHOULD GO

Troy Chaplin and youngster Reece McKenzie have already retired and I think Ivan Maric’s time is up. Moore and Broad are line ball but Morris, and this is harsh because of his injury, is probably done as well.

CRYSTAL BALL

Damien Hardwick raised eyebrows when he suggested the Tigers could be back playing finals next year and I don’t disagree with him but there’s an asterisk. The Tigers need to have a great run with injuries to play finals.

They’ll be in the 6-12 mark but that’s if their five A-graders have outstanding years and none miss with injury. It’s just the depth that gets them found out — it drops off very quickly at Richmond.

Their list will always be competitive because of the quality of the A-graders they’ve got and they have a few good players underneath them but the depth drops off, which is why they struggle.

I don’t think the list they’ve got right now is good enough to win a premiership.

They need to bring in more young talent and develop that rather than going down the path of getting 24-28 year olds, which they’ve done in the past.

Gary Buckenara helped build Hawthorn’s three-peat premiership list and now he runs a rule over club lists in an exclusive column for the Herald Sun.

Buckenara was a major part of Hawthorn’s recruiting team between 2004-2015 and was responsible for bringing Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead and Jordan Lewis to the Hawks in 2004 when he was the Hawks’ sole full-time recruiter.