Jay Clark
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9 min read
November 29, 2022 - 10:16PM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
Collingwood wants to thrust Wangaratta specialist school teacher Joe Richards straight into a half back running role to help its Nick Daicos midfield move next year.
The Magpies plucked the bolter from the bush with pick 48 in the fairytale storyline of Tuesday night’s AFL national draft.
And Collingwood believe the country footy star is made for the MCG after watching him dominate in the forward half despite heavy tagging attention in the Ovens and Murray League.
Recruiting chief Derek Hine said while the Magpies know he could add to their goal kicking stocks from the get-go, they have a big switch in mind.
Rising Star winner Daicos is ready to establish himself in the engine room next year, opening up a spot on the half back flank.
Hine said Richards’ clever running game was a snug fit for the way the Magpies’ wanted to move the ball out of the back line.
Joe Richards has been plucked from the Ovens and Murray League. Picture Yuri Kouzmin
And as a 23-year-old, physically Richards was ready-to-go as the Magpies look to mount a genuine premiership tilt.
“We bring him in with a level of confidence,” Hine said.
“He has got the game for the MCG that’s for sure because of his speed and his lateral movement.
“We potentially see him playing that high-back role because he’s instinctive in transition, he just does it naturally.
“He’s already accustomed to the one v one stuff.
“We know what he can do in the midfield and as a high forward and I think he will really transition into that high back role really quickly.
“We really do snap out of there quite quickly which allows us to give Nick a little bit more midfield time.”
Richards had lots of attention from Port Adelaide and Geelong as well with Hine admitting club representatives had watched Richards six times this year.
Recruiters had likened him to Brisbane’s Dayne Zorko and Hine was convinced he could make it at the top level after sparkling in the premiership decider.
“He’s one who really needs an opportunity,” Hind said.
“His form would suggest he’s ready to take that opportunity.
“He plays the way that we play. He’s instinctive in transition, he’s dual-sided both by hand and by foot.
“Over the last month he’s had an elevated program, so he should be able to step into the program really quickly.
“The grand final was the one which really ticked the box for us because he’s a player tagged week-in week-out and when the game was in the balance in the last quarter he just took it apart.
“That was enough for me.”
The selection rounded out an eye-catching draft for the Magpies who took dashing defender and emerging cult figure Jakob Ryan with its Ollie Henry pick (28) and pushed its Brodie Grundy selection (30) into next year.
Collingwood fans will have extra reason to cheer against arch enemy Carlton after Collingwood traded pick 30 for the Blues’ future second-rounder.
Ryan models his game on Hawthorn star intercepting defender James Sicily.
But the Pies wanted to add to their picks next year to bolster any potential trade plans.
“Next year we are going in with one future-first and one future-fourth,” he said.
“We didn’t want to go in next year with such a gap.
“So we put ourselves in a position where we can hit the trades, free agency and so on, but you can’t do that without any picks.
“We just wanted to make sure we put a bit of meat on the bone so to speak.”
Follow
@ClarkyHeraldSun
9 min read
November 29, 2022 - 10:16PM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
AFL Draft 2022: Collingwood country bolter Joe Richards to be thrust into running defender role
Joe Richards was the fairytale story of the AFL Draft. And Collingwood has big plans for him right away, with the country bolter set to help young star Nick Daicos.Collingwood wants to thrust Wangaratta specialist school teacher Joe Richards straight into a half back running role to help its Nick Daicos midfield move next year.
The Magpies plucked the bolter from the bush with pick 48 in the fairytale storyline of Tuesday night’s AFL national draft.
And Collingwood believe the country footy star is made for the MCG after watching him dominate in the forward half despite heavy tagging attention in the Ovens and Murray League.
Recruiting chief Derek Hine said while the Magpies know he could add to their goal kicking stocks from the get-go, they have a big switch in mind.
Rising Star winner Daicos is ready to establish himself in the engine room next year, opening up a spot on the half back flank.
Hine said Richards’ clever running game was a snug fit for the way the Magpies’ wanted to move the ball out of the back line.
Joe Richards has been plucked from the Ovens and Murray League. Picture Yuri Kouzmin
And as a 23-year-old, physically Richards was ready-to-go as the Magpies look to mount a genuine premiership tilt.
“We bring him in with a level of confidence,” Hine said.
“He has got the game for the MCG that’s for sure because of his speed and his lateral movement.
“We potentially see him playing that high-back role because he’s instinctive in transition, he just does it naturally.
“He’s already accustomed to the one v one stuff.
“We know what he can do in the midfield and as a high forward and I think he will really transition into that high back role really quickly.
“We really do snap out of there quite quickly which allows us to give Nick a little bit more midfield time.”
Richards had lots of attention from Port Adelaide and Geelong as well with Hine admitting club representatives had watched Richards six times this year.
Recruiters had likened him to Brisbane’s Dayne Zorko and Hine was convinced he could make it at the top level after sparkling in the premiership decider.
“He’s one who really needs an opportunity,” Hind said.
“His form would suggest he’s ready to take that opportunity.
“He plays the way that we play. He’s instinctive in transition, he’s dual-sided both by hand and by foot.
“Over the last month he’s had an elevated program, so he should be able to step into the program really quickly.
“The grand final was the one which really ticked the box for us because he’s a player tagged week-in week-out and when the game was in the balance in the last quarter he just took it apart.
“That was enough for me.”
The selection rounded out an eye-catching draft for the Magpies who took dashing defender and emerging cult figure Jakob Ryan with its Ollie Henry pick (28) and pushed its Brodie Grundy selection (30) into next year.
Collingwood fans will have extra reason to cheer against arch enemy Carlton after Collingwood traded pick 30 for the Blues’ future second-rounder.
Ryan models his game on Hawthorn star intercepting defender James Sicily.
But the Pies wanted to add to their picks next year to bolster any potential trade plans.
“Next year we are going in with one future-first and one future-fourth,” he said.
“We didn’t want to go in next year with such a gap.
“So we put ourselves in a position where we can hit the trades, free agency and so on, but you can’t do that without any picks.
“We just wanted to make sure we put a bit of meat on the bone so to speak.”
