Richmond’s 2020 campaign has faced its fair share of ups and downs with injuries and a gruelling fixture on the road in an era of COVID-19.
One of the major shining lights is the Tigers’ young gun Shai Bolton.
The 21-year-old has shown his maturity and diverse playing style in the midfield after All Australian Shane Edwards was forced to miss the start of the Queensland hub with a baby on the way.
Bolton stepping up to the midfield has brought a new energy and speed to the midfield, which most Tigers fans assumed would be missing with the loss of Edwards.
Bolton has stepped up and shown his gut-running ability and his poise and execution with the ball and with his forward-50 entries.
(Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Bolton was a part of the infamous mosquito fleet of small forwards accompanying the tall forwards of Jack Riewoldt and Tom Lynch to crumb the ground ball.
The injuries in the Richmond midfield opened up a space for the young star to show more natural ability and awareness in using the ball.
Bolton’s individual brilliance come to the forefront on Saturday for the annual Dreamtime clash played in Darwin.
Bolton had 29 disposals, five clearances, seven inside-50s and an early goal as the Tigers claimed a 12-point win.
Bolton also upstaged his superstar teammate in Dustin Martin to take home Yiooken Trophy.
The Richmond midfield are becoming a scary prospect in 2020 with the likes of Trent Cotchin and Kane Lambert not yet reaching top gear.
Fellow midfielders still out of action like Dion Prestia and Shane Edwards are still an ominous prospect come September.
The youth at Tigerland with the likes of Bolton and Noah Balta are exciting for Richmond supporters with a new era of Tiger cubs on the rise.
Richmond has blooded a lot of youth in 2020 to combat the footy frenzy with shorter breaks and tougher travel schedules.
Clubs never want to see injuries to their players, but Richmond have seemed to unearth a few diamonds in the rough and given more game time to its more inexperienced brigade.
Lachlan Mitchell
Roar Guru
His head will not grow heavy .
Floyd Calhoun
Guest
“A shimmering light”. Like Hotel California.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Yep. Goes into the centre bounces and then pushes forward.
Peter
Guest
If you measure grunt work by contested possessions, Dusty more than holds his own. What Dusty doesn't do, is, the gut running. Lambert does that for him. Dusty doesn't venture into the defensive 50 too often.
pablocruz
Roar Rookie
I'd throw you another line but you probably wouldn't catch it. Lol. Just messin' with ya', AD.
sven
Roar Rookie
little gem baker is, brave, makes good decisions & uses it well ... does get outmarked at times being the short guy he is
Eddie from Elwood
Roar Rookie
He'll end up out west at some stage, I think for the foreseeable future the Tiges will be happy to pay for him. He's still young, so he has time on his side, and reckon Ralphy will continue to get him good deals.
Kane
Roar Rookie
Absolutely he is, don't reckon I've seen him miss a target under 30m. He's a heart and soul kinda player too which brings the other bloke's into the game if he does something good
Mark
Roar Rookie
Yes, he's pretty quick young Richo-Shai! Pace through the midfield is so important.
Lukey Miller
Guest
That won't happen until the end of next year I am reliably told. The Eagles are clearly not going to participate in the early rounds of the draft next year (again). I am not sure that is a good thing really.
Mark
Roar Rookie
Agree Lukey but recruiting is only part of the story. It needs to be backed up by a good development program to ensure a Player can actually reach his potential. This is an area in which the Tigers have excelled in the past decade.
pablocruz
Roar Rookie
Yeah, good call.
Lachlan Mitchell
Roar Guru
Rumour Mill continues to churn
Lachlan Mitchell
Roar Guru
His speed is class the one that sprung to mind was Deledio who at the start of his career saw a gap and took full advantage, Plenty to like about Shai.
Lachlan Mitchell
Roar Guru
plenty coming through as well with Dow making his debut on Thursday. I think leadership is the key Houli , Cotch, and Jack providing guidance is crucial for long term success.
Lachlan Mitchell
Roar Guru
Yeah, I think where there is already a lot of negative stories, Bolton is a shimmering light.
pablocruz
Roar Rookie
Having played certainly gives greater insight into 'it happened to me' situations like these. And I'm confident a panel of ex-AFL footballers have far greater insight than your good self, sir. And me, too. And you know what they say about opinions . . .
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Wasn’t aware I had to have played football to have an opinion! Grimes shouldn’t have gotten off. It’s a poor decision for mine.
Lukey Miller
Guest
Richmond recruiters are just about the best in the business right now. They have done so well in recent years that they have had to let players like Butler, Townsend and Conca go.
pablocruz
Roar Rookie
I'll forgive your disappointment that Grimes' charge was dismissed because, by your own admission, you never played football. What appears to be isn't always reality. So glad the panel were all ex-footballers. With what has transpired this week I now wonder what Michael Christian was actually doing . . . he certainly wasn't doing his job.