2016 Draftees
Pick 29. Shai Bolton
I'm genuinely excited by this selection and in some ways can't quite understand how players like Ben Long & Cedric Cox were selected before Shai, I may be proven wrong but I think Bolton will eventually rise above these two once he gets some miles into the legs and puts on some much needed mass. He has all the tricks - speed, evasion, dual-sided kicking, leap & major scoreboard impact. His form in the All-Stars game was an excellent preview into what lays ahead and together with Daniel Rioli I'm predicting some serious indigenous magic to return to Punt Road. Pick 29 = Steal.
Pick 30. Josh Rotham (Yarran second rounder)
The cost of the Yarran trade will come back to haunt us, the sum total is now official - Riley Bonner & Josh Rotham. The fact that these guys can also play in Yarran's position is all the more galling, but I sincerely hope that lessons have been learnt. I personally rate Rotham a top 20 talent and had him placed at 15 in my rankings, the reasons for this were numerous. Firstly he possesses elite pace and presents as a genuine line breaker, coming in at 192cm this combination of speed & height is rare and could eventually translate to a midfield role. Rotham's leap is also elite and if he does cut it further up the ground then he'll be a very difficult player to match up on. Averaging 22 touches a game at Colts level there's enough evidence to suggest this isn't pie in the sky optimism. Rotham's disposal is also very good so it now becomes a question of building the tank and working on his defensive side, something which should occur with a couple of season's under his belt.
Pick 56. Jack Graham
Sometimes the cards fall your way and to have Graham available at pick 56 rounded out an excellent draft for Richmond. Our luck cannot be underestimated, Graham flew up to Brisbane and was interviewed two days before the draft, he was clearly in contention at pick 22, fortunately Brisbane had Cedric Cox ranked higher and the rest is history. To get a Larke medalist & state captain at pick 56 is highway robbery and with any luck this could well turn out to be our Andrew Swallow moment. Graham isn't without his flaws, his kicking can be scrappy but given he played with a quad injury throughout the year it's not unreasonable to expect some improvement with his depth and general accuracy. More importantly he's as tough as nails and is the type you want in a finals campaign.
Pick 72 - Ryan Garthwaite
The big knock on Ryan is his kicking technique, it's really the only aspect of his game that's forced him down the order, aside from that he's an excellent one on one defender and rarely gets beaten. The fact he can also rack up big possession tallies is a reminder that he's much more than than just a dour shutdown player in the Talia mode. In saying all this, there's no denying that his double handed ball drop needs to be refined so that he gets ball to boot much quicker. If this can be achieved then we have an AFL footballer on our hands. If not then it will be a case of a boom/bust pick which didn't quite pay off. Given our bigman stocks are perilously low I'm all for this selection and will be a keen observer with regards to modifying his technique.
PSD 6 - Kym Lebois
Just to set the record straight, I don't think Stengle is a bad pick and I give him some sort of chance of making the grade. In this particular instance I just happen to prefer Lebois because I feel he has more weapons and some extra versatility that may see him transition to the midfield. After the combine Lebois flew up my personal rankings, his speed is elite and he clocked in a faster repeat sprint time than Shai Bolton. On top of that his endurance testing was solid and he has the potential to increase that even further once he gets a few preseasons under his belt.
Now for a brief comment on using the PSD, as I've been advocating for a few years now, the preseason draft may be dead to some but this also presents as a huge opportunity to snatch the first pick in the rookie draft. It also provides a bit of a breather between drafts where one can analyse the pool and work out the best strategy in addressing list requirements. The fact that Maric is wasting a spot on the main list also deems the financial argument redundant. I'm ok with targeting a small forward this late because it's playing the odds to a tee, but I'd also want a guy who could feasibly replicate the feats of Charlie Cameron and eventually move up the ground. All things considered I'm not convinced that Stengle can do that and that's why I'd be taking Lebois at this point.
Rookie Draft Pick 6 - Peter Ladhams
We needed a key forward & we needed a ruck, given Zach Sproule got caught up in the Greater Western Swindle the only option as I saw it was to grab a player who could feasibly fill both roles. Ladhams has kicked goals at reserves level and has proven he's more than just a one dimensional tap ruckman. His athletic testing was also impressive, a 3.05sec/20m & a 13.6 beep which was a vast improvement on his early season numbers. With Vickery out the door Ladhams presented as the best option and should have been preferred over an ageing Maric. Those who feel tokenism is inconsequential need to consider the lost development time, particularly with rucks. A player like Ladhams is unlikely to lose value, even as a second stringer.
Rookie draft pick 24 - Luke Bunker
All I can say is don't give up on your ambitions Luke, unbelievably stiff to miss out despite performing well at the state carnival & at TAC level. The fact he's ranked in the top 25 by Champion Data speaks volumes. Bunker is the type I'd want for the Richmond reserves, in fact I hope we're making inquiries as we speak. As I understand he was contacted by half a dozen clubs but none called out his name on draft day. In this instance it just has to be some hard graft in the VFL and to take solace in the fact that Darcy Cameron & Willie Rioli finally realised their dream after 3 years in the wilderness.
