Richmond is open to trading its No.15 pick for a superior draft hand as the Tigers prepare to capitalise on draft night chaos with five picks to help replace premiership stars.
The Tigers will back in their draft order with coach Damien Hardwick giving the list team their head while in America on a fact-finding mission that includes more study in Boston.
Richmond is mindful of having lost three key position players in recent months and will hope to replace them by drafting the stars of the future with selections 7, 15, 26, 27, 28.
While the Tigers look set to keep pick seven - which will drift back to pick nine after father-son bids - recruiting boss Matthew Clarke said Richmond was open to trading pick 15.
If rival clubs are keen to get up the order the Tigers would be prepared to swap pick 15 with a later pick in the teens as long as the compensation was adequate.
Richmond is open to only taking four picks as they eye stockpiling more selections in a 2022 national draft already laden with key position stocks.
The Tigers are likely to secure one of intercepting defender Josh Gibcus, Northern Knights midfielder Josh Ward, East Perth key position forward Jye Amiss or Vic Country midfielder Ben Hobbs with the first pick.
Richmond’s welter of early picks means the Tigers can consider their list priorities or trade some of their later picks to ultimately improve their draft strategy.
“We have talked about moving up from pick seven but given our rankings we think we have some really strong options who will get through to us. Potentially some clubs with picks in the 20s are keen on our pick 15 and we would be reluctant to give it up unless there was a good offer. But if we could get back into pick 19 or 20 the player we select might not be much different.”
“So if someone really wanted pick 15 we could get a future first and potentially flick something back to them later in the draft.
“We are definitely mindful of those key position types. We have lost David Astbury, Mabior Chol and Callum Coleman Jones. But five picks gives us nice flexibility. If there are good players available with our rankings we could use all five picks and if clubs come hard we might get something good for next year.
Clarke said the club believed key defenders Ben Miller and “Biggy” Nyuon could make an impact next year but made clear it was dangerous to select on needs and ignore players with superior talent when taking top 10 picks.
“There will be some players we like. We are just sticking to our ranking. We want to be true to our rankings, we will come up with an order. We are pretty comfortable with where we sit. There will be some good players as there will be right through to 30, we are pretty confident we will get a good player.”
Richmond has always drafted for talent and traded for needs, so is aware if it can secure another selection in next year’s draft it could help restock the club’s midfield with another experienced player through the 2022 trade period.