Richmond youngster Patrick Naish will benefit from learning his craft in the VFL before his eventual integration into the senior side, according to Garry Lyon.
Naish – the son of former Tigers small forward Chris – was selected by the Tigers with pick No.34 in the 2017 AFL Draft and is still waiting to make his AFL debut.
By biding his time at VFL level, Lyon believes the father-son draftee will flourish at the next level in a similar pathway to that of Geelong sensation Gryan Miers.
“You have a kid called Patrick Naish, who is the son of Chris. He’s playing really good VFL footy,” the former Melbourne skipper told SEN Breakfast.
“A highly rated, high draft pick who was a star in the under 18 competition … they haven’t even trotted him out yet, Richmond.
“You compare him to a Liam Stocker for instance or a Jack Lukosius up on the Gold Coast who just get thrown into their teams and just keep getting played.
“In the meantime, Patrick Naish is just doing his stuff a bit like Gryan Miers last year, a year of VFL footy against senior men with no real time pressure – what a luxury.
“Learn your craft, learn the standards … you get a really test of where you’re at. Then when they come in, they’re ready.”
Naish, 20, has been in fine form mixing his time between half-back and wing in Richmond's VFL side that sits on top of the ladder with seven wins from seven games.
Listen to the best bits of this morning’s edition of SEN Breakfast with Garry Lyon and Tim Watson in the player below