Will we have a team consisting entirely of premiership players in a game in 2020?

[HTT]

First of all, I'd like to point out this is merely a niche stat, not something I think we should aim to do, just something to track over the year

In 2018 I remember we had a thread going about whether or not we could get our full 2017 premiership team back together. Like every other premiership team ever, it didn't happen.

Obviously, neither our 2017 or 2019 premiership team can be recreated due to departures, but we now have 25 listed premiership players, which gives us some wriggle room to name 22 of them in a single game. If I'm not mistaken this would take the very specific record of "Most Richmond premiership players to take to the field in a single game" given all of our first 10 flags were in an era with smaller/non existent benches.

Our listed players without a premiership medal are: Higgins, RCD, Ross, Turner, Markov, English, Moore, Menadue, Balta, CCJ, Garthwaite, Naish, Miller, Aarts, Chol, DES, Stack and draftees. These are the guys that will stop this from happening.
Bolded are players that I would speculate are most likely to take spots over premiership players, while in italics are other players who played in 2019.

Will we get a game with 22 premiership players out there?
Does anyone know of any times this has happened in the past?


* Note I'm excluding future premiership players, otherwise almost every game would have 22 I reckon

 

[Tigerbob68]

So firstly it's dropped to 24 listed players since you posted this!!!!! That doesn't affect this too much as Towna was relatively unlikely to break back into the team in front of those guys you mentioned.
When you consider Rance, McIntosh and Graham are the 3 that didn't play this year that will be there for Round 1 and Stack is the main one that could force his way in it's actually very possible. Only problem is, of course, injuries always interfere with these sort of stats. If everybody is available for selection in March you could absolutely see it happening. (Of course Higgins won't be available.) It will be a cool thing to watch out for. I love little stats like this!
Probably impossible to search for whether its happened before but you would have to think that either Brisbane, Geelong or Hawthorn might have done it at some point in the last 18 years.

 

[Tigerbob68]

It's actually not that hard to research but I'm not going to spend my whole evening doing it!! I looked at Hawthorn 2015 and they didn't do it in any game with back to back premierships preceding it!

 

[Football Tragic]

I actually hope we don't.

One of the strengths of this year and last, was the competition for spots and the necessity to blood young players. From all of the catastrophe of injuries to key players, we found players that improved the overall strength of the side and players that can relied upon to step in if required. Players such as Ross, Balta, Chol, Baker, Pickett, Stack, Bolton and even CCJ were all brought into the team due to injuries at different times. Without that forced changes, we would not have been able to measure their worth against the rest of the list and see if they have a future in our side. All of the players listed showed they are capable and have grown with the AFL opportunity.

On the other side of the coin we have given Menadue, Townsend, Moore and Bulter opportunities too but they were found wanting. Collier-Dawkins was gifted a game and struggled but after a year of development he showed plenty in the VFL GF. McIntosh was superseded so it will be a big preseason for him to improve his game and force his way back into the side.

If we play a team of premiership players this year, I fear complacency. I'd rather a similar model of this year (forced or not) where players are given games due to merit rather than previous performance. Injuries will play their part but I think it's healthy to focus on the squad, give players a chance to prove themselves if they are ready and then pick the team for the last portion of the year completely based on team balance.

 

[Infamy]

On the other side of the coin we have given Menadue, Townsend, Moore and Bulter opportunities too but they were found wanting. Collier-Dawkins was gifted a game and struggled

Huh?!?
No he wasn't, he hasn't debuted yet

 

[BF Tiger]

That was my thread mentioned in the OP. I think we had 18 or 19 premiership players take the field at some point in 2018. First half of the season it couldn’t happen because of Rioli, and by the second half Short has cemented a spot IIRC.

How about 22 Tiger premiership players on the field with Brando/Butler/Townsend lining up for the opposition?

EDIT: in round 4 2018 Richmond had 20 premiership players take the field. Rioli and Broad missed with Conca and Short in.

There were a couple of times through the season where 19 premiership players took the field.

 

[Tigerbob68]

Huh?!?
No he wasn't, he hasn't debuted yet

Maybe thinking of Coleman-Jones? Too many hyphens!!!!

 

[The Mighty]

Gotta keep moving or the pack gets you.

Not much growth or turnover through the side in 2018 apart from Higgins playing and Short who played half of 2017, Tigers stuck with the Premiership players as expected but the side got caught up by the seasons end and ran out of gas.

Pickett, Stack, Bolton, Baker and Soldo made a difference this season and assisted with the change up in the game plan for the Tigers and the most obvious one of course was Tommy Lynch.

The side has changed markedly from 2017 and so has the game style to a degree hence the change of personnel.

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

Gotta keep moving or the pack gets you.

Not much growth or turnover through the side in 2018 apart from Higgins playing and Short who played half of 2017, Tigers stuck with the Premiership players as expected but the side got caught up by the seasons end and ran out of gas.

Pickett, Stack, Bolton, Baker and Soldo made a difference this season and assisted with the change up in the game plan for the Tigers and the most obvious one of course was Tommy Lynch.

The side has changed markedly from 2017 and so has the game style to a degree hence the change of personnel.

Quality...good for one more GF!

 

[Cotcho]

It will all depend on whether Kid Stack gets injured or plays every game I reckon. It's more about who will come in and stay, rather than who will go out.