Richmond could be on the verge of losing two premiership defenders at the end of 2026, as they continue to struggle to get wins on the board.
Nathan Broad has already confirmed he will be leaving the Tigers at the end of the year, but Mark Stevens has revealed on the Six Points AFL podcast that another defender could be on the way out.
“It's interesting times at Richmond, and I'm looking at a couple of players; obviously Nathan Broad's already told them. Publicly, he came out in the media and said I'm moving, which surprised Richmond, but they're quite content that he's leaving, so he'll end up probably at West Coast," he said.
“The other one that hasn't been spoken about is Nick Vlastuin, 32-year-old, he's a gun, had an under prepared run into the season with that leg injury, so he's come in under done, he's copped a little bit of criticism at times this year for not being the same player, a lot of that's to do with preparation and also he's stuck in a team that's not a lot of fun playing at Richmond at the moment.”
Nick Vlastuin has earned another year at Richmond, hitting a games trigger for an extension, but Stevens believes there could be interest from rival clubs.
"So don't forget how good Nick Vlastuin is, so he caused a trigger, so he's now going into next year contracted at Richmond, so just keep an eye on Vlastuin," Stevens added.
"I think there will be interest elsewhere. Will there be interest from him to perhaps go somewhere else for perhaps one, maybe two years? He would be regenerated, revitalised, and he has had property down on the surf coast; would he work at Geelong?”
“I think he would be ideal at Geelong, down there on that small, narrow ground; he and Tom Stewart would be impenetrable, could it be a win-win for Richmond and Vlastuin?”
Daniel Harford believes the Tigers should be cautious, and not let too many senior players leave Adam Yze's side.
“You can't throw them all out; you can't throw all the experienced players out when you have got so many kids. You need some support, some coaching on the field, some leadership, even just standard setting at training, and those guys have been fantastic players for the Tigers, clearly," Harford said.
“I'd be mindful of that if I were the Tigers; if you are going to lose Broad, you can't afford to lose Vlastuin as well.”
