Player Watch #24 Sam Grlj

[tiger_tough]

He has been bloody good for a 1st year. That corralling of JHF was good. Most of our other players would've ended up on their ass while JHF hit a team mate on the tit.

 

[Vassp]

great addition to our team. can we get a few more players like him, please?

Id be seriously considering playing him in the guts. we need some run and good disposals.

 

[tiger_tough]

Can we give him a go on a wing? Were crying out for a line breaker on the outside.

 

[tigs2010]

He has been bloody good for a 1st year. That corralling of JHF was good. Most of our other players would've ended up on their ass while JHF hit a team mate on the tit.

Tom Brown still be walking along the wing to get there and its ****ing Tuesday now.

 

[SplintWhisky]

Can we give him a go on a wing? Were crying out for a line breaker on the outside.

Nah, I think the only thing we have kept from the Dimma-sty is that all players MUST be half backers otherwise, whats the point.

 

[Punt Road Feral]

great addition to our team. can we get a few more players like him, please?

Id be seriously considering playing him in the guts. we need some run and good disposals.

He’s had stints in there and been impressive for a first year player.
It’s been good management thus far but we can’t be impatient and cook him.

Found his stint at half forward on the weekend impressive.
It’s a tough position to find the ball in our dysfunctional forward line but was able to set up a couple of score involvements.

 

[Muddiemoose]

Can we give him a go on a wing? Were crying out for a line breaker on the outside.

Got thrown around a fair bit v port was great to see
Seems to make an impact wherever he is placed

 

[Vassp]

He’s had stints in there and been impressive for a first year player.
It’s been good management thus far but we can’t be impatient and cook him.

Found his stint at half forward on the weekend impressive.
It’s a tough position to find the ball in our dysfunctional forward line but was able to set up a couple of score involvements.

He def has the goods to make it. great at everything so far.

 

[Meteoric Rise]

We see some soft half backs fed the ball and made out to be superstars, but this bloke looks an absolute thoroughbred both offensively and defensively.

He is not even close to turning 19 yet and is rated around 40th amongst general defenders in the AFL so far in 2026. There are about 70 of those who run out each week, so at 18 he is already around an average general defender.

But what is really catching my eye is his defensive efforts.

Sam Grlj is the NUMBER ONE general defender in the AFL for pressure acts, with 15.2 per game.

And he is rated =6th for tackles amongst general defenders with 3.2 per game.

These are parts of the game a lot of young players really struggle with, and he seems born with those traits. Offensively, he looks truly menacing. As the team improves around him that menace will start to really impact the scoreboard.

He will increase his time on ground around 10-15% in coming years, and this alone is likely to see his rating rise into the top 30 amongst general defenders in the AFL. But you can of course add expected improvements in his game to that.

When I look through all his most relevant statistics, he does not have any really weak areas.

This looks a magnificent draft pick at 8 by Richmond FC. And to think there were several prominent supporters visibly pouting as we selected him in the 2025 NAB National Draft.

With Grlj's all round game he definitely has gun midfielder or key rebounder written all over him, probably with the ability to switch seemlessly between those roles down the track.

So from what we have seen so far, two of our high draft picks look nailed on guns, Grlj and Lalor. If Hotton's body allows I think you can nail him on from what we have seen as well. Cumming and Smillie to be seen at AFL level yet, we await them with great anticipation - our recruiters rated Cumming at least slightly above Grlj, and Smillie above Hotton. And the tall guys we expect will take longer, so give them some time.

 

[UncleBob]

We see some soft half backs fed the ball and made out to be superstars, but this bloke looks an absolute thoroughbred both offensively and defensively.

Looks electric at the moment.

Keen to see how he progresses.

 

[Meteoric Rise]

Looks electric at the moment.

Keen to see how he progresses.

I could not be more impressed with Grlj. You sometimes get ideas in your head about players before seeing them play.

With Hotton I sort of thought like many he might be another Bolton, flashy, brilliant but not necessarily hard. But on watching Hotton play he was all of that and very hard in the contest as well.

With Grlj after watching a long line of softer types running through half back in the AFL I sort of expected this was his genre. But the training reports in pre-season spoke of a player who was very contested, so I have been watching him carefully in contests. He is f*kcng good at it, like seriously good, his tackling is brilliant.

Fingers crossed for Hotton, but we have some very enjoyable days ahead if all these guys reach full maturity with bodies intact.

 

[peternorth]

fingers crossed he stays on the park and doesnt get serpelled

 

[RoaringTiger]

He is tough as nails. And so evasive. I love him

 

[DontArgue4]

He is tough as nails. And so evasive. I love him

Going to be a star, you can just tell