No.1 pick Sam Lalor promises to provide some much-needed cheer for Richmond fans in what’s looming as a dark year. Photo: AFL MEDIA

RICHMOND
2024 record: 2 wins, 21 losses (18th)

THE INS
Sam Lalor (GWV Rebels), Josh Smillie (Eastern Ranges), Taj Hotton (Sandringham Dragons), Jonty Faull (GWV Rebels), Luke Trainor (Sandringham Dragons), Harry Armstrong (Sandringham Dragons), Thomas Sims (Northern Knights), Jasper Alger (Oakleigh Chargers)

THE OUTS
Dustin Martin (retired), Dylan Grimes (retired), Shai Bolton (Fremantle), Liam Baker (West Coast), Daniel Rioli (Gold Coast), Jack Graham (West Coast), Marlion Pickett (retired), Sam Naismith (retired), Noah Cumberland (delisted), Matthew Coulthard (delisted), Mate Colina (delisted)

THE STRENGTHS
Much has been made about deep cut that has been made to Richmond’s playing list, and rightfully so, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that the Tigers still have some premiership experience in the form of Toby Nankervis, Tom Lynch, Dion Prestia, Kamdyn McIntosh, Nick Vlastuin, Nathan Broad, Jayden Short and Noah Balta. Former GWS pair Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper are far from a couple of slouches either. And youngsters such as Seth Campbell, Josh Gibcus, Sam Banks, Tom Brown, Kane McAuliffe, Steely Green, Tyler Sonsie and Judson Clarke have all shown varying glimpses of potential at different stages over the past couple of years. By investing heavily in last year’s draft with seven of the first 28 picks, including Sam Lalor with the coveted No.1 selection, and already guaranteeing themselves at least two first-round picks at this stage in this year’s draft, the Tigers have a firm eye on the future. There wasn’t much to write home about last year, but Nankervis helped Richmond rank sixth for hitouts. Incredibly, one of their two wins was against minor premier and runner-up Sydney.

THE WEAKNESSES
How quickly the mighty have fallen. It doesn’t seem that long ago that the Tigers were the toast of the footy world after winning three flags in four years, yet here they find themselves at rock bottom not long after, starting from scratch. So much for former CEO Brendon Gale’s ambition of becoming like Geelong and remaining a top-four contender for over a decade. Those dreams came to a crashing halt last year as the Tigers produced their worst ever season, losing 20 games for the very first time, and becoming just the fifth team in VFL/AFL history to suffer 21 defeats in the same season, joining North Melbourne (1972), Melbourne (1981), Fitzroy (1996) and GWS (2013), on the way to “winning” their first wooden spoon in 17 years and just the seventh in club history. Season 2024 was a complete disaster for the Tigers who finished 17th for disposals, contested possessions, inside 50s and contested marks, 15th for clearances, second-last for tackles, turnovers and intercepts, and No.18 for marks and grabs inside 50. All of that amounted to Richmond boasting the worst attack in the competition and the 17th-ranked defence. To put it simply, the Tigers were a bunch of walkovers – and that’s when they still had Dustin Martin, Dylan Grimes, Shai Bolton, Liam Baker, Daniel Rioli, Jack Graham and Marlion Pickett on the list! They’ve all been completely replaced by a bunch of teenagers. Imagine how badly Richmond is going to fare this year. Concerningly, the players didn’t look like interested in playing for rookie coach Adem Yze last season, and if that attitude rolls over into 2025, Richmond fans might as well not even turn up to watch what their team is going to serve up week after week. That scenario would also put Yze at risk of an earlier-than-anticipated departure from the role, especially if his team cops routine wallopings. With the second-youngest and least experienced list in the competition, it is going to be a long road back for the Tigers who will struggle to better their tally of two wins from last year. And if things weren’t already tough enough, Richmond will start the year without Prestia (Achilles), Balta (suspension), Ralphsmith (hamstring), Gibcus (knee), Lefau (knee), Tylar Young (knee) and Clarke (knee). Meanwhile, 2024 draftees Lalor (concussion/jaw), Josh Smillie (hamstring), Jonty Faull (back) and Taj Hotton (knee) are all either unavailable or under a cloud for Round 1.

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ONE TO WATCH
Without doubt it’s Lalor. The dux of the 2024 class is a strongly-built midfielder and, with his authoritative fend-offs, shares similarities with Martin. Like the triple Norm Smith Medallist, Lalor is a competitive animal, who is a force to be reckoned with in the middle of the park thanks to his ability to effortlessly extract a contested ball from stoppages. He has fantastic penetration with his kicks but also has aerial ability and will be able to play forward as well. Such is the state of Richmond’s list, the young gun will get plenty of opportunities to show off his enormous talent this year, and it will be much needed for the Tiger Army in what looms to be a very long, cold, dark winter.

UNDER THE PUMP
Crunch time has arrived for Thomson Dow. While he undoubtedly had his best season last year, managing a personal best 17 games, which amounted to half of his 34 career matches over five seasons, he still got dropped for the final two games, which is a concerning sign for him given the strength (or lack thereof) of the team he is playing in. He enters the final year of his contract under huge pressure to cement a role for himself in the midfield, otherwise his time at Punt Road could be up.

BEST 23
B: Nick Vlastuin, Ben Miller, Nathan Broad
HB: Jayden Short, Noah Balta, Tom Brown
C: Hugo Ralphsmith, Dion Prestia, Kamdyn McIntosh
HF: Rhyan Mansell, Jacob Koschitzke, Seth Campbell
F: Mykelti Lefau, Tom Lynch, Maurice Rioli
R: Toby Nankervis, Tim Taranto, Jacob Hopper
Inter: Jack Ross, Sam Lalor, Sam Banks, Jacob Bauer, Steely Green
Emerg: Thomson Dow, Josh Gibcus, Tyler Sonsie

As was previously mentioned, quite a few of the names in Richmond’s best line-up won’t be seen in the first few games at least, which will give the likes of Dow, Tyler Sonsie, James Trezise and Kane McAuliffe to grab an opportunity to impress early. So dire are things down at Tigerland that Footyology has made a rare exception to its rule by naming a draftee in the line-up with Lalor appearing on the bench. Gibcus is expected to miss the first six to eight weeks, and is an emergency for now, but it won’t surprise to see him slot back into the line-up soon after he returns to full fitness from his ruptured ACL.

*all team stat rankings mentioned are based on differentials, not totals (apart from overall offence and defence).