Five-time premiership Hawk Dermott Brereton has outlined his concern with Richmond landing Tom Lynch in the trade period.
The Gold Coast forward is expected to choose Punt Road as his destination of choice, but could that upset the balance of what’s made them so good?
“The hardest and most difficult time any team has had dealing with Richmond was last season when they got on a roll and their three small forwards were able to surge and run with the flight of the ball,” Brereton told SEN’s Crunch Time.
“They outran everybody. They’ll still be able to do that a little bit, but not the same.
“If you’ve put in a second big, key marking forward, they’re not playing that run back to goal that teams fear anymore.”
Former Western Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy said it’ll take some off-season tinkering to work out their new game plan.
“I think it’s the right call to get Tom Lynch, I think their summer becomes a cram session because it’ll just change the way they play,” Murphy said.
“We’ve got such a clear idea of how Richmond play and how their forward line works and the landscape is so different now.
“Their forward pressure which has been so hard to get out of, with another tall, it just makes it that bit easier.”