Forget the premiership window – Richmond looks set to pry the screws off the thing in 2023 and beyond.
The Tigers have offered seven-year deals to both Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper, which has seen both of the Greater Western Sydney stars nominate Punt Road as their location of choice come 2023.
It will take some shrewd negotiating at the trade table, but by 7:30pm on October 12, when the trade period ends, both are near certainties to be Richmond players.
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They’re huge gambles to take, but they’re ones that will keep the Tigers’ premiership hopes well and truly alive for the foreseeable future.
With Neil Balme a key cog at Richmond, it’s no surprise the Tigers’ list management strategy bears echoes of Geelong’s, but even then there are key differences.
While Geelong has also topped up with experienced talent at the expense of draft capital, Richmond has crossed a line the Cats refused to in the pursuit for Hopper.
That line is a self-imposed one from the Cats, who refused to up their offer significantly and risk compromising their much-lauded salary cap management, with virtually all of the side’s best players taking less than market value deals to remain in the premiership window.
Foxfooty.com.au understands Geelong’s offer was not as long or for as much as Richmond’s.
Still, there are similarities between the two sides that contested the 2020 Grand Final.
Key among them is that Richmond is set to follow in Geelong’s footsteps by offloading what could potentially be three first-round draft picks in exchange for talent that can turbocharge their premiership campaign.
For the Cats it was Jeremy Cameron and two second-round picks in exchange for picks 13, 15 and 20 – a good case of management by the Giants given the free agency system would’ve only given them pick No.11 if they opted not to match Geelong’s five-year deal.
The Tigers have in play picks 12, 19, 30 and next year’s first-rounder.
As things stand, the Giants want two first-rounders in exchange for Taranto’s services but, like Cameron, a second-round pick from the Giants could come back the other way.
For Hopper, a first-round pick will be on the cards in exchange for a player taken with pick No.7 by the Giants.
The long-term nature of the deals is also understandable, albeit risky if injury strikes.
Richmond more than most clubs will benefit from such deals given they still have $1.3 million of cap space taken up by Dustin Martin for the next two years.
Additionally, spearhead Tom Lynch, who also joined on a seven-year deal, had his contract backended, with 2022 the first year of four at a markedly higher salary.
Couple the end of such contracts with a Total Player Payments cap almost certain to rise and it’s clear how the Tigers can afford to snare both Taranto and Hopper.
Like at the Cats, some veterans have taken significantly lower paycheques in order to chase another flag.
It’s no coincidence that Jack Riewoldt and Trent Cotchin’s one-year extensions come in the midst of Taranto and now Hopper committing to the Tigers.
Riewoldt and Cotchin have both taken a fair haircut in order to make room for the latest pending additions.
In any case, the immediate impact both will have at Richmond is set to be considerable.
Both will join a midfield brigade that has at times looked undermanned, particularly in last week’s elimination final once Dion Prestia succumbed to another hamstring injury.
By the end of the trade period, the Giants too could well come out winners, having cleared a considerable amount of salary cap space and in possession of a mouthwatering draft hand.
Richmond is placing considerable faith in Taranto and Hopper in a high-risk, high-reward investment in two players.
It’s a leap of faith and one best judged in hindsight, but for now it will add to what is shaping up as one of the most engrossing trade periods we’ve seen.
