Inside Richmond’s call on whether to bid on club-tied draft prospects

Richmond won't have a problem making a bid on Gold Coast Academy duo Zeke Uwland or Dylan Patterson, as well as Carlton's Harry Dean, if they are available at their selections.

The Tigers currently hold Picks 3 and 4, as well as 38 and 81, but won't be shy in making rival clubs pay full price for the highly talented prospects.

Richmond National Recruiting Manager, Rhy Gieschen, said the Punt Road administration has been tracking the development of the club-tied talents, and believes that bidding on top-end prospects is "the only way that the system works.”

"They're quality players and we've been tracking those players for three years," he told Richmond media.

"I think I've been on record before as saying if they're at the top of our list when our pick comes, we'll place a bid, and I think that's the only way that the system works and what the AFL's put in place.

"Those guys are certainly right at the top of our order, so if it comes to be, we'll bid, and I think the clubs that are getting them are really lucky because they're quality players and quality people."

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The historic draft haul of 2024 saw the Tigers land a mix of star on-ballers and key position talents, which makes for an intriguing watch on what they'll do on Wednesday night.

The discussion between the best player available or focusing on positional needs has permeated through the club in recent weeks, and Gieschen provided some insight into what Richmond will do with their pair of top selections.

"It's something we talk about quite a bit, and that's both in our list management conversations and our draft conversations," he said.

"I'm really confident that at the top of the order, we just go on best available talent. If you look at every player who's been taken up the top end of the draft, clubs have just picked for the player that they think will be a really long-term successful player… that's our strategy.

"As it goes deeper in the draft, you might consider what your list needs, but we've always been drafting the best available player, and then you can work through that in list management later on."