2020 Team Preview – Richmond

Written by Chillo on January 30 2020

This is the mob that lost their talismanic fullback in the opening game of the season, and then went on to win the grand final by 15 goals. Need I say more? Richmond established themselves as the modern benchmark in 2019, the team that every other is desperately trying to chase down. They do it by surrounding a few genuine stars with a reliable band of role players who all do their job every week, and cap it off with one of the more astute coaches in recent times. The selflessness of their brand of footy has to be admired even if you’re not a fan of the club. And fortunately for us there’s a fair deal of Supercoach goodness on offer as well!

Defenders

Lock and Load: A career year at age 31 for Bachar Houli ($571,600) in 2019, which saw him break through to average over the ton for the first time. With Rance missing, Bachar established himself as the defensive general for the Tigers, utilising his trademark style of run-and-carry to continually launch attacks from the back 50. The knock on Houli over the years has been his durability – he does tend to pick up a niggle or two every year and it can lead to him being somewhat of a rollercoaster scorer. Given that he is playing in such a good team though, there are plenty of points on offer and he simply must be considered.

Feeling Lucky: Nick Vlastuin ($495,500) and Shane Edwards ($458,000) are Tigers stalwarts that will certainly be of interest to draft participants, particular Edwards with his dual position status. Each player probably sits in the second echelon of defenders this year though, so as good as these two players are, if you really want a Tigers defender I would still suggest that Houli is your man.
If you’re looking for a bit of value then Jayden Short ($349,300) could be an inspired selection. Short was all set to benefit from the new kick-in rule last year before suffering a gruesome dislocated elbow in round 3 which kept him out for three months. Hasn’t quite got back to the form he showed in the back half of 2018, but if he can he would be a useful stepping stone in your defensive line. Keep an eye on his role in the pre-season games.

Midfielders

Lock and Load: An outstanding finish to 2019 has put Dion Prestia ($550,200) firmly in line as an under-priced premium for that troublesome M5 spot. A post-bye average of 114 ppg last year was by far the most impressive run of the former pick 9’s career thus far. Even more encouragingly, Prestia played all 25 games last year, seemingly over the numerous niggling injuries that had dogged him throughout recent years. If he can sustain that form over an entire season Dion will be the POD and breakout that every coach is looking for.

Feeling Lucky: This is the biggest stretch of this review, but a career of consistent excellence has earned Trent Cotchin ($429,500) a mention here. The skipper has probably passed the midfield torch on to the next generation of the yellow and black, but if you’re in a deep draft then Cotch may still pop his head up late in the piece as I reckon he’s still capable of going 90+ this year.

Money Maker: Let me be blunt here – if Marlion Pickett ($123,900) is not in your side right now, then maybe you should take up knitting or stamp collecting instead, because this is not the game for you. The guy had 22 possessions, a goal and 96 points. On debut. IN A GRAND FINAL. Not to mention the blind turn that will be in highlight reels from now until the end of time. Next!
Riley Collier-Dawkins ($123,900)
is a massive unit who had an encouraging year in the VFL. He’s still raw, but all the elements are there to produce a very good AFL footballer. Whether he can break into that super-strong Tigers midfield remains to be seen but he should definitely be in your black book if injuries hit at Tigertown.

Rucks 

Even if Gawn and Grundy were abducted by aliens tomorrow and never heard from again, there would still be nothing to see here. Soldo and Nankervis will probably ruck in tandem this year, which is a huge Supercoach no-no. And even if they don’t, you can still ignore them.

Forwards

Lock and Load: We lost a lot of good soldiers from our forward lines in the off-season, but thankfully the prodigal son Dustin Martin ($543,000) has returned. If he were a mid only you would likely ignore Dusty, but as a forward capable of averaging 100+ he is a must have. The best advice I can give here is to ignore that fact that Martin may never again reach the heights of his Brownlow year in 2017, when he averaged 120. Simply consider the other available forward options in 2020 and realise that this is an easy choice.

Feeling Lucky: It’s one of the unwritten rules of Supercoach that you treat key position players like lepers, but in the cases of the discounted Tom J Lynch ($388,800) and Jack Riewoldt ($374,100) it may be a rule worth breaking in 2020. As expected, Lynch took a while to adjust to the structures and surrounds at his new club last year, only averaging 58 ppg up to the bye. He then stormed home after that, posting just under 92 ppg for the remainder of the season, and belting out 106 points per game in the Tigers’ romp through September. A little more blind faith is required in Riewoldt’s case, who at 31 years of age is probably more of a draft prospect than someone you would look seriously at in Classic.
A special shoutout to Jack Higgins ($358,800), who will hopefully return to the field this year after going through serious surgery late last year.

Money Maker: As previously, there isn’t much room for rookies in such a powerful lineup, but small forward Jake Aarts ($123,900) is one player who could work his way into the Tigers forward line. The departure of Dan Butler provides a little extra space, but Aarts will still be pushing uphill; fortunately Jake is no stranger to hard work and should be monitored.

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13 thoughts on “2020 Team Preview – Richmond”

  1. Great read Chillo.

    I will be picking EVERY rookie that start for RIC this year. They ALL have roles and cos they’re bl00dy good, they all tend to score well … eventually!

    Counter to that, I won’t be starting Dusty or Houli. Tigers tend to start slow each year, since they’ve started playing deep in September each year. I want both, but am near certain they will be cheaper come early upgrades. I’m assured that Houli will have the same role in 2020 but we need to make sure his body is right. You don’t want premos who play less than 20 games.

    Don’t call me stupid!

    But I am seriously considering starting Tom LYNCH in 2020. Ave’d over 100 in the back half of last year (incl. Finals). While he does have injury history, he’ll have had a full pre-season and what he managed last year given how undercooked he was, was impressive. Im not 100% yet, but if I do, I’ll be happy to ride the crap scores hoping for a big back half for a 90+ ave. Min. He ave’d low 90s playing for a terrible Suns side a few years back and the odd big game should see his price no cheaper than it is right now.
    Someone slap some sense into me. Thanks!

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    1. Interesting food for thought AS. If there were more ‘set and forget’ FWD premo options I would be also tempted to wait for Dusty to hit his straps after the bye, but locking in a ton every week for the whole season is just too tempting. And that is only assuming he maintains output and doesn’t increase. With T. Lynch firing from rd 1, I reckon Dusty might spend a bit less time up forward, which should hopefully equate to more points. But I do like your thinking, and PS games could be interesting from that perspective.

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    2. Martin is killing me and i 100% agree with what you say. I really do not want to start him as i agree he will be way cheaper at upgrade time and at 543k just doesn’t represent value.

      However his just such a safe option due to his levels of ownership (59% at this stage!) and the fact theres no one i like anyway. The danger is – Martin firing early whilst you don’t own him is more dangerous than Martin failing early whilst owning him. For that reason i have decided to stick to my usual strategy of playing safe early and have folded selecting Martin at F2 (Heeney at F2 is the only other alternative i will strongly consider)

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      1. I hear ya Zac, but not having Dusty means I can go 6 deep in my MIDs, so I reckon even if he starts well, I’ll more than have him covered with onfield pts. And that’s what we want. POINTS!!

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          1. I will. Plenty’ll change between now and then tho’, but I’m very content with current thinking/structure/approach.

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    3. As…like your thinking but its a big statement saying that you will start all tiger rookies…but then again, its probably two at most. Houli an interesting one…finished tenth last year on total pts which is my barometer, so stewart and laird get a guernsey for me…both are cheaper and hardly ever miss.
      If Martin is in your team for finals, you need to pick him up some $140k cheaper by your own reckoning to justify not starting him, and costing a trade. I’m tossing up between D Smith and Lynch as f5 (6/7/8 will all be rookies), and although there is a “never pick a kpp forward rule”, there are always exceptions. With 22 players on the field, unlike that BBL crap, one player is probably not going to cost you a lot on any given week, but might just be the difference in getting some wins especially as you say, later in the season. One thing for sure I reckon…Lynch price will be higher at season end.
      I would call you “considered” my friend…never stupid.

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  2. Just my thoughts as one of the resident Richmond nutters/supporters

    Jake Aarts has competition from Markov (who used to play as a defender). They switched Markov forward in the VFL and played a very similar role to Jason Castagna. Off the charts athlette.

    The Rucks: Nanks had a groin op and might not be good to go for round one and there is a big question mark on who replaces him and will they get games earlier. I’m keeping an eye on Coleman-Jones if he starts round one, he is 190k but is a ruck/forward. Might be too pricey.

    I’m strongly considering Lynch. It’s just the bye that’s the problem for me.

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  3. Dusty and Pickett my two Richmond players at this stage. i do agree Lynch is serious value but i can’t ride that kpp rollercoaster this time :p

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  4. Couldn’t have written up my Tigers any better, Chillo……..
    Houli’s high numbers depend on Short and/or Baker playing their shutdown roles down back. This allows Houli to play loose across half-back and rack up those sort of 2019 numbers (still can’t believe opposition coaches haven’t closed that one down).
    The forgotten man at Tigerland is Sydney Stack. If not for an unfortunate injury in the VFL, he’d probably have a premiership medal dangling around his neck. Dimma has him in our best 22, just a matter of where? He has a great goal sense when playing forward and can set up play from half-back. Barely wastes a disposal and keen to see how far he can go this year…….

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