Richmond’s decision to take Sam Lalor at pick No.1 in the 2024 national draft was predicated, in no small measure, by their recruiting department’s view that Lalor had shown only a fraction of his full arsenal of talents.
Lalor was untested, in the sense that he had missed the AFL draft combine’s series of tests for speed, endurance and so forth. Yet the Tigers knew enough to take him before all others, in the knowledge that the powerful midfielder/forward had the requisite qualities to be a player who changes a club’s trajectory.
The Tigers believe Sam Lalor’s rich talents have largely been untapped.Credit: Getty Images
“I thought we only saw 60 per cent of his capabilities this year,” said Francis Jackson, the renowned Tigers’ recruiter, who drafted Jack Riewoldt, Shane Edwards, Trent Cotchin, Alex Rance and Dustin Martin in the space of three post-seasons.
“I kept saying ‘he’s capable of so much more’.”
To an extent, it was Lalor’s prowess at cricket, as a power-hitter for the Victorian Country under-17s and Geelong Grammar School, that prevented him from developing the kind of fitness base that other high-end draft picks often command when they enter the AFL.
“That was definitely a challenge,” Lalor said of the way cricket stymied his football fitness at junior levels. “While I had cricket, I was focusing on it a fair bit, so I didn’t get to do a pre-season, then I injured myself in cricket, missed one footy pre-season. So that was definitely something I had to overcome.”
Lalor played in the same national under-17 cricket championship’s as NSW’s wunderkind Sam Konstas in 2022-23, but the pair’s paths did not cross. In one innings, as the Vics chased a tally near 200, Lalor and his schoolmate Ollie Peake both made half-centuries.
Witnessing Lalor’s efforts, Julien Wiener, the former Australian and Victorian opening bat, later told Cricket Victoria’s pathways manager Tom Evans that Lalor was “a real player to watch.”
When Lalor took guard for Geelong Grammar, school chums would flock to the oval to watch him bludgeon the bowling. The windows at nearby Manifold House, the boarding house closest to the oval, were not safe when slamming Sam was on song.
“The boys used to all come out when Sammy came to the crease, and watch him bat,” recalled Troy Selwood, the former Brisbane Lions player who heads up sport at Geelong Grammar and who was among those who lured Lalor to the school for his final two years in the boarding house (he left St Patrick’s in Ballarat to take up a sports scholarship).
“Absolutely, those boarding house windows, he came close to them a number of times.”
Lalor added: “I hit the middle school library – that was my biggest one (six).”
Lalor, a sturdy Bacchus Marsh lad from a talented sporting family, had the potential to be a BBL player, in Cricket Victoria’s view. Unlike Peake, whose skills and temperament have him slated as a Test prospect (he’s presently touring Sri Lanka with the Australian team for his education), Lalor’s blunt power was made only for Twenty20 or 50-over games, had he prioritised cricket.
But football was his calling, a reality Evans and the Victorian cricket folk had accepted by the time he was in year 11 at the Corio-based school.
Sam Lalor getting close attention at Richmond training last week.Credit: Justin McManus
“He was invited into the under-19s the following year, and he declined, which I thought might happen because of footy,” said Evans. “But yeah, he was certainly in the top few batters in that age group [in Victoria].
“He was more a ball striker, that’s his strength. But, yeah, probably didn’t quite have the finesse that Peakey’s got, or the match smarts, potentially – that’s why potentially the BBL could have been his route.”
In an interview with this masthead, Lalor said his decision to choose footy over cricket was made “probably halfway through year 11”.
Why footy? “I just enjoy it more. I played too much cricket. I got sick of it. I just enjoyed the physical stuff from footy.”
Geelong Grammar had produced more political leaders and media barons than elite sportsmen until it ramped up its recruiting of country kids from local high and Catholic schools. The school won the Associated Public School cricket premiership in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, primarily on the back of Peake and Lalor’s talents.
“I probably made 50 most weeks but never got to the 100 [as Peake did],” recalled Lalor. “I was too impatient.” He predicated his former batting partner Peake would make Test cricket. “He’ll be at Boxing Day soon, and I can’t wait to be on the sidelines watching.”
Lalor’s combative batting style was consistent with his football traits. While there have been repeated comparisons to Martin, Selwood – one of the fabled four brothers to play AFL – reckoned Jordan De Goey and Christian Petracca were more accurate comparisons.
“He is super explosive, hence the comparisons to ‘Dusty’ or to Petracca or to these type players,” explained Selwood, who worked in recruiting for Geelong.
“I feel that that’s more the type of player. Look, they’re all pretty similar, but I feel like Petracca and De Goey, when I watch him play, I think of those boys first … he’s a brilliant mark overhead. And he did it all over the ground, especially as a year 11, he was just sensational.
“He showed some of that this year in the national championships, taking a couple of fantastic marks … he will be super damaging if he does push forward.”
Lalor, who made Cotchin look slight when receiving his jumper at the draft, concurred with the size and shape comparisons to De Goey and Petracca. “Yeah, [I’m a] pretty solid kid, strong through the hips and stuff.”
Jackson’s colleague, the late Chris Toce, had batted hard for Lalor early in 2024 before cancer took hold of the recruiter. “Chris was all over it,” said Jackson.
Sam Lalor was presented his Richmond jumper on draft night by the club’s three-time premiership skipper Trent Cotchin.Credit: Penny Stephens
What Jackson saw was a player who “kicked efficiently inside 50 metres”, who had “physicality and size” in combination with speed and power.
The only query, as with so many draftees, was whether his body could withstand the demands of AFL.
The Tigers also perceived Lalor as one whom teammates would rally around. And the teenager brushed off the purported burden of being pick No.1, noting that he was part of a large crew of early picks at Richmond. “It’s fine. I don’t really feel any pressure, just because I’ve got so many boys at Richmond, we’ve got eight boys, so there’s no pressure on me.”
Lalor (pronounced Law-lore, as in the Eureka Stockade leader) has overcome his hamstring tendon issues of 2024 and is building his fitness. Selwood felt he would begin as a forward and need time to build a midfielder’s aerobic base.
“I would imagine that if he’s playing any football, any AFL football, next year for Richmond, it’d be as a forward,” he said.
Unflustered by media, dismissing the burden of expectation, Lalor expressed appreciation, rather than trepidation.
“I’m in a good place now, it’s been a tough couple of months,” said Lalor. “I’m loving being an athlete and working hard actually … hopefully it’s going to help me.”
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
