RICHMOND will have the chance to add to its mid-season draft success story after placing injured ruckman Ivan Soldo on the long-term injury list.
The Tigers didn't have an open list spot to take part in the NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft on June 2, but moving Soldo to the inactive list as he continues to recover from a knee reconstruction has given them the space, as flagged by AFL.com.au earlier in May.
Soldo ruptured his ACL in round 17, 2020 against the Cats and missed the club's march to a third premiership in four seasons.
The Tigers picked then 27-year-old Marlion Pickett in the mid-season intake in 2019, proving to be one of the all-time great draft choices as he went on to debut in that season's Toyota AFL Grand Final victory over Greater Western Sydney before becoming a two-time premiership player last year.
Richmond's physical performance manager, Peter Burge, told the club's website that Soldo's recent setbacks in his recovery from his ACL rupture made it easier to end his preparation for 2021.
"The decision around that revolves around the two minor surgeries he has had recently, and the delay in his return back to training and preparation with that," Burge said.
"It would have been very late in the season, August or possibly even September. We just made the decision knowing all of those things and weighing it all up that it would be probably better to prepare for next season and take the pressure away off Ivan.
"We have let him get away for a couple of weeks, have a break and give him a real chance to have a full pre-season and off-season to prepare for next year."
>> Watch all the NAB AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft picks LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App from 6.30pm AEST on Wednesday, June 2