Are trades really the answer for Richmond?

 
Michael DiFabrizio Columnist

By , 6 May 2010 Michael DiFabrizio is a Roar Expert

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Richmond’s general manager of football operations, Craig Cameron, said yesterday his club would target opposition players during this year’s trade week. The idea seems ludicrous for a club that’s clearly in rebuilding mode.

In fact, when yours truly first read the headline “Tigers planning to be active trade week players”, I assumed it had something to do them trading out older players for more draft picks, or even some of Gold Coast’s stack of tradable picks.

That’s what rebuilding clubs are meant to do, after all. Stick to the kids and all that.

But, sure enough, the initial assumption was wrong and the Tigers will indeed be in the business of searching for talent at other clubs in 2010.

Cameron wrote on the club’s website: “We will broaden our recruiting horizons in a bid to find the necessary talent to bolster our playing list and, with [former Port Adelaide recruiter Blair Hartley] now on board, we anticipate being quite active in the trade market.

“We’re one of the first AFL clubs to have a fully-resourced trading division in our overall recruiting structure, so we are confident we’ll be capably equipped to make smart decisions with regards to trades.”

Richmond are in the unique position of having to build their list at a time when expansion teams will be given the cream of the draft crop, but that doesn’t mean trading is the best way to get around such an obstacle.

One might look at the success that both Sydney and the Brisbane Lions have enjoyed since their active trade weeks last year, but it has to be remembered there are different circumstances with the Tigers.

Sydney, for example, has a strong reputation for being a great destination for players – the anonymity of living in a non-traditional footy market, the tight playing group, et al – and even though they missed out on finals last year, it was clear listening to Paul Roos that they had no intention of staying down for long.

Richmond, on the other hand, cannot fall much lower and have a long way to go to climb back. Tigerland is hardly an ideal destination for players.

Just as Melbourne found out the past couple of years, any player with any sort of currency – and it gets worse the higher the profile of that player – will be unlikely to end up at a rebuilding bottom-of-the-ladder club.

You have to ask what’s so wrong with adopting an approach similar to Fremantle’s the past couple of years?

The Dockers have drafted a lot of kids in recent times. Rhys Palmer, Stephen Hill, Nick Suban and Anthony Morabito have all been great finds. But they didn’t just stop at drafting kids.

They built a rookie list that’s bursting at the seams, to the point where they actually need long-term injuries to keep their team together. They brought in mature-age recruits that have been able to have a noticeable and immediate impact. They invested ridiculous amounts in development, to the point where they are among the four biggest spenders in the league.

Critically, none of the above methods used by Freo require a player or draft pick to be sent to another club, or require the club involved to entice players over.

There are ways of getting around the challenges presented to Richmond the next couple of years, but trading seems a long way behind the best of them.

Follow Michael on twitter @mdifabrizio
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