It's been a big off-season of signings at Richmond so far and they've only kept coming. This time, however, it's in the VFL, where the club has welcomed back Garrett McDonagh to the fold.
After a year spent with Essendon's AFL side, the 184cm medium-sized defender was delisted, paving the way for a return to Punt Road. The Bombers drafted him with pick 50 in the 2021 National Draft and had hoped he could make an immediate impact.
Unfortunately, despite some pre-season hype surrounding a potential Round 1 debut, he was unable to break into the side at AFL level.
After spending several years in the Northern Football League playing for West Preston Lakeside and winning multiple premierships, McDonagh landed at Richmond's VFL side in 2020.
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Unfortunately for McDonagh and so many others, that season would never get played due to COVID-19, yet in their 2021 campaign, he impressed enough for Essendon to take a chance on him at the draft.
As a mature-age player, it was hoped he could potentially step straight into the Bombers' backline to replace some of the rebound lost when Conor McKenna returned home to Ireland in 2020.
Unable to break into Essendon's senior side, McDonagh was delisted in August before Richmond threw him another lifeline. It's yet another setback on his AFL journey after originally nominating for the draft back in 2014.
Having been overlooked then, he is no stranger to adversity and time will tell if the rebounding left-footer gets another crack at the big time.
