Richmond could be on the verge of a free agency heist as the premier maintains an interest in Brad Crouch.
Former teammate Patrick Dangerfield’s urgings have seemingly put Geelong at the front of the queue for the Adelaide midfielder, but the Tigers remain a sneaky chance to pull the rug out from under their premiership rivals.
It’s understood Richmond has been quietly stalking Crouch for some time, while the likes of Geelong and Port Adelaide dominate the headlines.
It remains to be seen what affect, if any, Crouch’s ill-fated night out with young teammate Tyson Stengle will have on interested clubs.
Live-monitored CCTV in Adelaide’s CBD in the early hours of Monday morning led to Crouch and Stengle being caught with drugs in the back of a taxi.
It puts the full-stop on a disappointing season for Crouch, who went from the Crows’ best and fairest winner in 2019 to playing only 12 games and finishing outside the top 10 in this year’s club champion award.
But as things stand, the interest from those clubs remains. Crouch now has a big decision to make.
The Tigers clearly couldn’t offer Crouch the sort of money he could command elsewhere, meaning Crouch would need to make a decision on how much less he was willing to take if he was to join the premier.
But Richmond has what no one else has – recent premiership success and as close as you can get to a guarantee of more.
Richmond’s recent re-signing of young on-baller Jack Graham will also make it harder for the Tigers and Crouch to agree to terms, while the Tigers also have the likes of Jake Aarts, Nathan Broad, Toby Nankervis and yet-to-debut 2018 draft pick Riley Collier-Dawkins out of contract.
Crouch was last year chasing a five-year deal to remain at the Crows, but was also exploring ways to leave.
There were talks with Gold Coast, but a move for the then-contracted onballer failed to materialise given the Suns were determined to go to the draft.
Richmond last year launched a failed pursuit of Zak Jones, but Crouch would further strengthen Damien Hardwick’s already-potent midfield.