Where's the club at?
At Richmond, it's pretty much all about youth. A young forward line, a young backline, a young midfield. There's a bit of experience around, but the focus is on moulding and growing the kids. After moving from 16th to ninth this year, the next step is the big one – making the eight. Greg Tivendale and Chris Hyde have both gone, and others will follow during or after trade week, with Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls and Danny Meyer both in the gun.
Needs
The Tigers have a wide but not deep midfield, and with Ryan O'Keefe a possibility to move on from the Sydney Swans, what club wouldn't want a hard-as-nails, experienced, premiership midfielder? But with the Swans looking for a big return on O'Keefe, the Tigers will be unlikely to pay a price that high. For the Tigers, it's about building, not topping up.
However, if a ruckman who could work alongside Troy Simmonds was to come onto the market, the temptation might be overwhelming.
Tradeable commodities
The Tigers don't have a list that others will be looking to pick over – a 'U'-shaped distribution curve of ages means lots of youth, a few near the end of their careers and not much in that middle, tradable range. So it is draft picks that the Tigers can put on the table, and they probably aren't going to want to do that.
What the club says
"We will be striving to help put together the best possible playing list for our club moving forward." – Football general manager Craig Cameron.
Crystal ball trades
Mark Seaby is said to be wanting out from under the shadow of Dean Cox at West Coast – the Tigers would dearly love an experienced ruckman to work with Troy Simmonds, and one who can ruck, go forward to take a good grab and kick goals would fit the bill perfectly. The Tigers could offer pick 26 and a young midfielder to help the struggling midfield at the Eagles, but that probably isn't enough for West Coast given Seaby is a 97-game, premiership ruckman. Would the Tigers trade off pick eight? Unlikely.
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More trade talk
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Trade week runs from October 6-10, 2008. Please note, no trades are official until paperwork has been accepted by the AFL and formally recognised after 2pm on Friday, October 10.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
