Richmond has completed its second trade for the week, acquiring Shaun Grigg from Carlton in a direct swap for Andrew Collins.
Grigg, 22, 190cm and 85kg, is a tough, hard-running midfielder, who has played 43 league games since being recruited by the Blues, with selection 19, in the 2006 AFL National Draft.
He played eight of the last nine games in an impressive finish to the 2010 season, before straining a hamstring, which forced him out of Carlton’s elimination final against Sydney. In five of those appearances, he gathered 20 possessions or more, with a career-high 29 touches against West Coast at Subiaco in Round 17.
“Shaun is the type of player we are looking to add to our list. He’s got some experience, having been in the AFL system a few years, but is still young and will add to our midfield mix,” said Richmond’s General Manager of Football, Craig Cameron.
“We believe he will be a good fit for our side. He’s got a bit of size for a midfielder, is hard at it, and has a really good “engine”, which will help us next year with the changes to the interchange system.”
“And he will give us the opportunity to release some of our midfielders to be more damaging options across the field.”
Cameron reiterated the Club’s philosophy during this trade period . . .
“It’s been a priority for us to protect our selections in the upcoming draft, so we can recruit more young talent. But if the opportunity came up to bring in some players who are in the right age and experience bracket, then we’d be interested. And, Shaun certainly falls into that category,” he said.
Collins, 22, was drafted by Richmond at selection 73 in the 2006 National Draft, and has played 25 games since making his league debut in 2009.
“Andrew is a quality, young player, but, at the end of the day, you have to give up something decent to get something decent, and that’s what happened with this trade,” Cameron said.
