Between collecting 36 tickets for his family and friends, learning from one of the game's greatest forwards in Luke Breust, and kicking two goals on debut, Richmond's Noah Roberts-Thomson has a lot of upside after just 120 minutes of senior football to his name.
Selected with pick 54 by the Tigers in the 2025 AFL Draft, Roberts-Thomson, who hails from Sturt in South Australia, collected eight disposals, three marks and one clearance to go with his two goals on debut, but remained humble when recounting the excitement post-match.
"Coming close to the game, I was getting nervous, but once I got out there, I was just trying to play footy, it was a regular game really. I was happy to get one on the board early, it settled the nerves," Roberts-Thomson told the ABC.
"It was pretty hot early. Once I got that first one on the board, I calmed down and it was easy to breathe."
And he had a massive support group cheering him on in the stands, as he managed to kick two goals with his first two kicks at AFL level, a feat achieved by few.
"I got 36 [tickets] in total. Once I got picked, I had 15 mates all book a flight straight over from Adelaide," Roberts-Thomson said.
But there's still plenty the 19-year-old wants to work on to continue to take his game to new levels, which means leaning on the Richmond coaches and players to help fast-track his progression.
"It was about developing as quickly as I could. I've had such great coaches, like Chris Newman and Luke Breust, who has really taught me that small forward role, which I hadn't played much of in the past," Roberts-Thomson said.
"I can't remember how I used to play [junior] footy. Now that I know all this information, it's a new game. I'm stoked to have those guys in the coaches box.
"I've learned small forward positioning, fighting for the outside and setting the ground up for your teammates. You may not always get on the end of them, but trying to bring your teammates into the game is something I try to do as well.
"I've gone back and watched a fair few Luke Breust highlights. He's impressive off the pack. I try to model my game on him.
"And Steely Green and Seth Campbell have been so helpful to me in teaching me their forward craft."
