Mar 14, 2021
If you were a young up-and-coming AFL player, the last club you’d probably pick to try and get some game time is one that’s won three of the last four premierships.
But if you fit that description and you happen to find yourself on Richmond’s playing list, you don’t really have much of a choice but to put your head down and bum up and work overtime in order to break into one of the most dominant sides of the modern era.
“What it teaches some young guys is that spots are not just offered up to you just because you’ve got potential and you’ve been drafted at a young age,” Richmond national recruiting manager Matthew Clarke told Footyology.
“Those young guys have got to fight for a spot … we hope and we think we’ve picked some good characters that have got resilience and a really good work ethic to really hone their craft and take a spot off one of the veterans when they’re ready, or they become available like when injuries hit like they did last year.”
It won’t be easy, especially as complacency isn’t a quality that many pundits would associate with the Tigers, either. However, if some established players find themselves resting on their laurels at some point this season, the following three youngsters might make them wish they hadn’t.
RILEY COLLIER-DAWKINS
The Tigers’ top draft pick from 2018 (No.20 overall), the 21-year-old midfielder has been a bit of a late bloomer and is still yet to debut.
Finding a spot for himself in the Tigers’ star-studded on-ball division has also understandably proved to be a bit of a challenge in his first couple of years.
But after an impressive pre-season, and a lengthy body transformation, that looks certain to change in 2021, with Collier-Dawkins primed to have an impact at senior level at some stage.
“He’s one we’re really excited by and he got a bit of a taste in the [practice] game against Collingwood,” Clarke said. “We always knew that Riley would probably take a bit longer given he’s quite raw in his development and his exposure to the pathway when he came through.
“He wasn’t an under-16 [Victoria] Metro selection and hadn’t been in academy squads and all those types of things, so it was always going to take him 12-18 months to get his training and body into the right condition.
“He was always a big, strong, powerful boy, but he probably needed to trim his body down and build it back up again, which he has done.
“He’s a lot leaner, but he’s still retained his power and his leg speed, so I think he’s a guy that could really jump – he can play through the middle of the ground, he’s an explosive player from stoppage, he can really burst out and get moving.
“He’s also got the ability to play as a forward as well because of his marking ability – that’s where he played a lot of his footy as a junior.”
THOMSON DOW
After getting a taste of senior footy last year, playing two matches, the brother of Carlton’s Paddy Dow will almost certainly get even more game time in 2021.
Having overcome the unique obstacle of having no VFL competition to play in as a result of the pandemic yet still managing to get selected in his first year in the system speaks volumes of the potential possessed by the 19-year-old.
Like Collier-Dawkins, Dow is a Richmond top pick from 2019 (No.21 overall) and with so much development and upside still to come in his game, he looms as another exciting prospect for the Tigers who looks set to take his game to another level.
“We love his speed and his movement, he’s got fantastic agility and great speed from the contest – so ability to win the ball and get in and get out really quickly with his lateral movement and a change of pace,” Clarke said.
“He’s got terrific hands, he’s got really creative hands, we likened him a lot to Shane Edwards in his draft year with his ability to use his hands from a contest situation and find guys under pressure.
“He’s played a lot of junior footy as a forward as well, so forward-mid, that sort of area of the ground he can play, wing as well.”
HUGO RALPHSMITH
The son of former Hawthorn and St Kilda player Sean Ralphsmith, Hugo heads into his second year in the AFL with a genuine chance of playing at senior level as a utility.
The 19-year-old was taken at pick 46 in the 2019 draft and hasn’t made his debut yet, but his versatility as a footballer is something the Tigers’ match committee may find harder and harder to ignore as the season rolls on.
“He’s a great athlete, Hugo, and he played forward and a wing as a junior, but now he’s been able to use the forward, wing and even half-back role with his running power,” Clarke said.
“I think he’s taken some significant steps … and he’s put on some real muscle in the off-season and looks like he could take a real step, so we’re excited by what he could bring.
“He was just a young private school boy that hadn’t had a lot of time in the gym, and given his athletics background, he’s really not going to put on a lot of upper-body weight, he was always going to be light in that area.
“But now that he’s put on some significant kilos improving his upper-body strength, his ability to hold his own in one-on-one contests on the ground against bigger bodies and aerially has really improved.”
Despite Richmond heading into the new season as reigning premier, Dow, Ralphsmith and Collier-Dawkins have all done enough over the summer to be in the mix for the Tigers’ round one clash with Carlton.
“One thing about our coach is if he thinks you’re training well enough and you perform well enough, it doesn’t matter who you are, whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a young developing player, if he thinks you’re good enough to play he will pick you,” Clarke said.
“And he will always pick for position rather than pure rating or talent that others might do, it’s more position-specific, whether it’s a half-forward or midfield or a half-back spot, he will give one of those guys a go.”
https://footyology.com.au/generation-next-2021-your
