Draft night couldn't have went any better for Richmond fans. Not only did they get six incredibly talented players, but they also secured North Melbourne's 2025 first round pick (expected to be a top 5 pick), which was the icing on the cake for the club.
The Tigers dominated the first night as they kicked off proceedings with their first selection landing on Sam Lalor. The club bolstered their side significantly as they prepare to take on a rebuild under coach Adem Yze. Blair Hartley absolutely nailed the selections targeting the top-end midfielders at the beginning. Not just any midfielders, but big, powerful and impactful players like Sam Lalor (Pick 1) and Josh Smillie (Pick 7), also adding talented mid-forward Taj Hotton (Pick 12). The club then added to the key position stocks at both ends of the ground with forwards Jonty Faull (Pick 14) and Harry Armstrong (Pick 23), and defender Luke Trainor (Pick 21).
To cap it off, they traded Pick 27 to North Melbourne for a future first found selection in next year's draft, which could give Richmond two top five selections in 2025 as well. Richmond may look to trade Pick 28 tonight or may consider a player like Alex Dodson to try and replenish the ruck stocks.
Another huge area of upside for the Tigers is the fact that many of these boys have played together for quite some time, and are all really close mates. Lalor and Faull played together at Rebels, while Hotton, Armstrong and Trainor formed the key pillars at the Sandringham Dragons, who won their third consecutive CTL premiership this season. While Smillie played at Eastern Ranges, he captained the other five during the AFL Academy matches. Maybe this was part of Hartley's master plan, maybe it wasn't, but it is a huge benefit to the club either way. Rarely a side has the draft capital to select players from the same teams who have played together for a long time already. And Richmond will likely never have a draft haul like this ever again.
ALL RICHMOND SELECTIONS
Pick 1 - Sam Lalor
Pick 7 - Josh Smillie
Pick 12 - Taj Hotton
Pick 14 - Jonty Faull
Pick 21 - Luke Trainor
Pick 23 - Harry Armstrong
Read about each of the players below.
Pick 1 - Sam Lalor (GWV Rebels / Vic Country)
Midfielder / Forward - 188cm - Plays like ... Dustin Martin
As expected, Sam Lalor was selected with the coveted No.1 pick. He was Richmond's first number one selection since they drafted Brett Deledio back in 2004. The GWV Rebels product found out on Monday that he would be the first pick of the draft when the club visited his Bacchus Marsh home to present him with the good news. The powerful midfielder is as close a prospect to Dustin Martin as you could find. He plays the same way, he grew up idolising Dusty and wears the No.4 guernsey on his back. There are even similarities in the way he speaks (not that we have ever heard Dusty speak much). He has also been compared to Jordan De Goey. He is confident, but not arrogant. Being selected with the first pick despite spending lots of his draft year on the sidelines speaks volumes about how highly the Richmond recruiting team rate Lalor. The young gun said he hadn't played a game in 2024 at more than 80 percent fitness, so a fully fit Lalor with a pre-season under the belt is a scary proposition for the league. The late Chris Toce also had his handprints all over Richmond's draft selections this year. It was revealed that Toce had recognised Lalor as his predicted No.1 pick back in March of this year. Toce passed away last month after a battle with cancer, he was honoured by his young son Harry who hit the button for Richmond's first selection on the night.
My Scouting Notes
I actually didn't get to see much of Lalor, largely due to his poor run with injury this season. But watching him in the U18 Champs, it was clear he is a game-breaker with great power and strength in the contest. He is an impactful player and doesn't need much of the ball to make great things happen. He's explosive and stands up in the big moments. He spent most of his time playing forward in the champs and was a headache for defenders during 1-1 contests. He also runs and jumps at the ball well. This was highlighted when he crashed a big pack to take a hanger in the grand final against Vic Metro. His performances in the APS competition for Geelong Grammar were also outstanding.
Pick 7 - Josh Smillie (Eastern Ranges / Vic Metro)
Midfielder - 195cm - Plays like ... Patrick Cripps
In a draft article I wrote earlier this year, I described Josh Smillie as the "dream midfielder" and I stand by that. When watching him get his jumper presented by Richmond great Jack Riewoldt, you couldn't help but notice the fact that he was taller than Jack. And Smillie is a midfielder. He is a Patrick Cripps prototype and his comparisons from the combine suggest he could be even better than the two-time Brownlow medallist. When you combine Smillie's height and strength with his exceptional athleticism and scoreboard impact, he has the biggest ceiling of any player in this year's draft. He kicked 16 goals in his 12 Coates Talent League matches, going goalless on just two occasions this season. He is incredibly tough to bring to ground and always finds a way to dispose of the ball, his burst from the stoppage also sets him apart from other midfielders in this year's pool. Smillie was short odds for the No.1 pick earlier in the year but a quieter U18 Championships saw him slide to seven. But he was impressive during the AFL Academy games collecting 30 disposals, six tackles and five clearances against Coburg. He is a proven leader as well, captaining his Eastern Ranges side and the AFL Academy team as well. To get Smillie at pick seven is a big win.
My Scouting Notes
I drove down to Trevor Barker Oval back in March for the Round 1 Coates Talent League clash between Oakleigh Chargers and Eastern Ranges. One of the first plays I saw was Smillie roving the ball from the pack, breaking a couple of tackles with his burst from the stoppage and slamming the ball on his non-preferred left boot for a snap goal. I fell in love with him at this moment. If you had have told me there and then, that Richmond would get him with Pick 7, I would've asked you where to sign. The CTL seemed too easy for Smillie who just did as he pleased. And his huge performances this season would reflect that. My only question mark with Smillie was his ball use which was actually the main reason that as a Richmond fan, I was leaning towards picking Finn O'Sullivan with No.1 earlier in the year. However, it's easy to forget Smillie is 195cm and wins a lot of contested ball, meaning sometimes it isn't possible for him to hit a target. He's getting the inside, scrappy ball and just has to get it on the boot at times. This is still an area of improvement but considering his size, his poise and ability to find a good option is still above average. He didn't set the world on fire in the U18 Championships and Harvey Langford moved past him as the highest-ranked big midfielder in the draft. But Smillie wasn't bad by any means, just not as good as the high expectations he'd already set.
Pick 12 - Taj Hotton (Sandringham Dragons / Vic Metro)
Midfielder / Forward - 182cm - Plays like ... Shai Bolton
Taj Hotton at Pick 12 was one of the more surprising ones on the night. While there is no doubt his talent means he is deserving of this spot, if not higher, it was thought he would be picked up closer to the 20 mark. Hotton would've been selected inside the top 10 had he not suffered the ACL injury which saw him sidelined for most of the year. He is a classy mid-forward who brings a level of excitement to the game that not many can. In my opinion, the only player who is a more dynamic, electric and exciting player to watch from this year's draft pool is Isaac Kako, Hotton a close second. He is evasive, smart and has an impressive footy IQ, he reads the play faster and better than most. He started the season with some exceptional performances for Sandringham Dragons, which included a 32-disposal, four-goal game against Oakleigh Chargers. He is just under 6ft tall, but is good in the air for his size. Football ability runs in the blood as Taj is also the son of former Collingwood and Carlton player Trent Hotton, and the brother of current-listed Saints youngster Olli. While his end goal is to be a midfielder, I see him as a natural half-forward in Richmond's side at the moment. He earned selections into the AFL Academy and Vic Metro sides but only managed a single game for the Academy before injury struck. Could Taj Hotton be a perfect replacement for Shai Bolton? Pre-draft profiles comparing the two would suggest so. Hotton's 2.88 second 20m sprint just ranked better than Bolton's 2.95 second 20m sprint in 2016. Both players were ranked elite in the running vertical jump, just one centimetre different, Hotton (93cm) and Bolton (94cm). Hotton was also selected with the same pick that the Tigers got from Fremantle for Bolton. There's a bit in that.
My Scouting Notes
Hotton didn't play too much football in 2024 but like mentioned above, he started the season with Sandringham Dragons in a rich vein of form. Another standout performance not long before he suffered the ACL injury was in the AFL Academy game against Coburg. Hotton played the game at his own pace and was a tough match-up for opposing players. He kicked 2.2 from 16 disposals and was electric through the midfield and inside 50, even spending a bit of time playing on the wing.
Pick 14 - Jonty Faull (GWV Rebels / Vic Country)
Key Forward - 195cm - Plays like ... Charlie Curnow
Jonty Faull may not have been the highest ranked key forward in the draft. Possibly sitting behind Harry Armstrong and Jobe Shanahan at the start of the night. But there is a reason why the Tigers used one of the earlier picks on Faull, they really wanted him and didn't want to run the risk of missing out. He started the season with injury but didn't miss a beat on return and helped guide his team to a Grand Final appearance against the Sandringham Dragons. He is a mobile forward who is a bit different to the other two. He offers a lot around the ground and isn't just an eight-disposal-per-game player. He is a beautiful kick and kicked 27 goals in his 11 Coates Talent League games. He competes hard and has plenty of similarities to Richmond's Tom Lynch. I love his work rate, which I view as much better than other tall forwards in the draft pool. His second efforts and competitive streak, combined with his agility and cleanliness below the knees make him a perfect fit for the Tigers. He played a huge role for the Rebels this season, and even better than that, he is used to playing alongside our No.1 star Sam Lalor.
My Scouting Notes
Jonty Faull was exceptional for the Rebels late in the season and I think two performances in particular are what really sold Richmond on him as their number one target for a key forward. Across both the Qualifying and Preliminary Finals, Faull kicked 9.4, collected 34 disposals (29 kicks), 11 marks and three tackles. It didn't matter who Oakleigh Chargers put on him in the PF, he was marking everything. He moves well across the ground and presents hard at the football. Not to mention his cannon leg which means he is a strong chance at scoring from wherever he marks the ball. He was a man playing amongst boys for most of the season. You can only imagine how many goals he would've kicked if he'd played the first 10 rounds, averaging 2.5 per outing after his return.
My tweet below was after watching that game live.
"A five-goal performance from GWV Rebels' forward Jonty Faull single-handedly propelled his team into the CTL Grand Final. The Rebels' first in 27 years. 18 disposals, seven marks, he was everywhere."
Pick 21 - Luke Trainor (Sandringham Dragons / Vic Metro)
Key Defender - 194cm - Plays like ... Jordan Ridley
You could tell from his pure and wholesome reaction to being drafted that Luke Trainor is not only going to be a great player, but a great energetic person to have around the football club. After chatting to Luke and getting to know him a bit, I can confirm that. He is a great kid who is humble and will genuinely give the club everything he has, I expect he will quickly become a fan favourite. I mean he was at home watching the draft with no invite when he found out he'd been picked by the Tigers. At a rapid pace, he'd gotten his hands on a Richmond dreamtime guernsey and made his way to Marvel to celebrate with the draftees and greet the players. I think that speaks volumes about his character.
Now onto Trainor as a player. He grew up as a promising key forward but was shifted into defence in his bottom-aged 16s season. He never looked back from here with his intercept marking and ability to read the play forming as key aspects of his game. He is courageous and has beautiful foot skills. He was floated as a potential No.1 pick just a few months ago and I feel as though he is the early steal of the draft. He had a great season in defence with Sandringham Dragons but it was the AFL Academy games and U18 Championships where he really made a name for himself. He was awarded BOG with 20 disposals and five marks against Coburg and kicked the winning goal for Vic Metro in the U18 Champs grand final, after moving forward late in the game.
Listen to my podcast episode with him below.
My Scouting Notes
Whenever I watched Trainor play this season, his ball use stood out and his confidence to take on tough kicks from defence. He plays a daring style of game and jumps at the football in marking contests far more than the common defender. He is calm and composed under pressure and is trusted with the kick-in duties in most sides he plays in. He has great hands, but it's his closing speed and ability to completely nullify forwards that makes him so valuable to the team. He doesn't get sucked into the contest and reads the play well, backing himself to take intercept marks.
Pick 23 - Harry Armstrong (Sandringham Dragons / Vic Metro)
Key Forward - 195cm - Plays like ... Jeremy Cameron
A classy left-footer who takes his chances in front of the big sticks and is a great impact player. I know it feels like I'm saying this about everyone but Armstrong was strongly considered as the best tall forward in the draft and was considered to be a top 10 chance. So for him to slip to 23 is an incredible result for the Tigers, I didn't expect him to wait that long to hear his name. He is mobile and strong in the air, making contested pack marks look easy at times. His exceptional agility was on display when he ranked seventh in the draft combine agility test, an impressive feat for a guy of his stature. He has a long, penetrating left boot and much like Faull, he is within scoring range from almost anywhere. He models his game on Jeremy Cameron and loves to wheel and go like the Geelong star. The most pleasing thing about Armstrong and the reason why I had him as my favourite key forward coming into the draft is his exceptional goal kicking accuracy. He kicked 27.10 in the Coates Talent League this season and has spent a lot of time working with Essendon great Matthew Lloyd down at Haileybury College for the past three years. He can win you a game with five touches. He even scored a bag of 10 in one APS game. Despite only playing three games of the U18 Championships, Armstrong turned heads with a five-goal haul in the championships decider against Vic Country single-handedly winning the game for his team.
My Scouting Notes
He leads at the ball well and is a great target inside 50. He sums up the word impact, he has clean hands and doesn't need a second chance to convert on shots on goal, making the most of every possession. He is probably the best contested mark in the draft pool, with his ability on display throughout the championships where he troubled defenders, booting nine goals in three matches. His goal kicking is efficient, structured and appears controlled. He seems to have a good temperament as well despite being a fierce competitor.
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