A young Richmond draftee has emerged as "one to look out for" after an impressive start to life in the yellow and black.
South Australian addition Kane McAuliffe has begun to gain the attention of his new teammates at Punt Road just months on from joining the Tigers as the 40th overall pick at last November's National Draft.
The Port Augusta product is an explosive and powerful inside midfielder who adds to the Tigers' strong engine room ensemble, with the teenager taking no time to earn some plaudits from his peers.
Across recent sessions under new coach Adem Yze, McAuliffe has "absolutely dominated" to potentially be in the mix for an Opening Round debut.
"We've got a new draftee, Kane McAuliffe, he's a big-bodied mid," Richmond's Hugo Ralpsmith said onย RSNย when quizzed on pre-season standouts.
"We had a bit of match sim last week and he absolutely dominated. So I think he's one to look out for."
McAuliffe shared his draft season between North Adelaide's reserves and U18s sides in the SANFL last year, showcasing his ball-winning nous and clean clearance work.
The 18-year-old has joined Richmond in the early stages of their new era under Yze, who replaced triple premiership coach Damien Hardwick after a 13th-place finish to 2023 for the Tigers.
For Ralphsmith and his teammates, there's no roof over what the club can do this coming season should their new plans come together quickly.
Reflecting on where the club sat in the years prior to their drought-breaking 2017 premiership, the Tigers defender said the sky is the limit for his side as they look to focus on the process at hand.
"Everyone's worried about the outcome and wants to win a premiership, but for us, it's more about the process," Ralphsmith said.
"If we play the right footy we can go anywhere. You look back to 2016, the Tigers weren't going too hot and then a year or two later they were the best team that anyone had seen in a while.
"You never really know where it can go, so we've got expectations of each other and that we can do the right thing."
After an equal career-high 13 appearances in 2023, Ralphsmith is keen to spread his wings and cover multiple roles in Richmond's new system, likely finding some time further up the field under Yze.
While his traditional role at half-back will be where he continues to hone his skills, the 22-year-old is open to growing his game this year.
"I'll be more down at half-back with some wing and maybe even half-forward, that's the conversation we're having at the moment," he said.
"I guess we'll wait and see once games start coming up. I think I'll be playing down back but we're very fluid at the moment so we'll see what fits."
Richmond's 2024 campaign will commence in Opening Round against Hardwick's Suns in Queensland on Saturday, March 9, with the Tigers returning to Melbourne the following week to meet with Carlton at the MCG.
