By Peter Ryan and Marc McGowan
Dual Richmond premiership player Shai Bolton has told the Tigers he is open to returning to Perth for family reasons if a suitable trade can be arranged, with Fremantle the front-runners to land him.
However, the 25-year-old All-Australian has stopped short of officially requesting a trade, with his management saying he will not demand the Tigers let him go with four years remaining on his contract.
Shai Bolton and Daniel Rioli are both contracted at the Tigers beyond this season.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Bolton’s manager Anthony Van Der Wielen released a statement confirming discussions had been taking place.
“Shai Bolton has not requested a trade. We have had some ongoing discussions with Richmond throughout the season where he has indicated that he would be open to the idea of returning home to Perth if a suitable deal can be struck that benefits all parties involved,” Van Der Wielen said.
“With a young family and strong ties to Perth, the prospect of being closer to home is appealing to him. However, Shai is not making any demands of Richmond and fully understands that he has four years remaining on his current contract.”
The Dockers are his most likely destination if Richmond agreed to a trade, with West Coast having shown little inclination to pursue Bolton as their main focus has been on two other Tigers – out-of-contract pair Liam Baker and Jack Graham.
Bolton emerged as a key member of the club’s 2019 and 2020 premiership teams and has a five-year deal until the end of 2028. He was selected in the 2016 national draft at pick 29, the compensation the Tigers received for losing free agent Ty Vickery to Hawthorn.
Richmond would be expected to put a high price on the matchwinner at the trade table as they contemplate whether to cash in on established players and reboot with a strong hand at this year’s national draft.
The Tigers are facing an interesting off-season with Gold Coast keen on triple premiership defender Daniel Rioli, who is also contracted for the next two seasons.
Dustin Martin has retired and Liam Baker is likely to request a tradeCredit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
Baker is also expected to return to Western Australia – both the Dockers and Eagles are keen, with Freo considered slight favourites – while Graham is also a chance to join the Eagles as an unrestricted free agent.
The potential departure of four premiership Tigers would give the club a bounty of draft picks in this year’s national draft as they reload under new coach Adem Yze and a soon-to-be appointed CEO to replace long-serving chief Brendon Gale.
They already hold pick one and could head to a draft, which is considered even and deep, with multiple selections inside the first 20 selections.
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