It may have been Stealth Night at the 'G last Saturday night, when Richmond took on arch-rival Carlton in a special home game, but the Tiger Army couldn’t help but notice exciting young gun Taj Hotton.

The definition of stealth is the act of moving or acting in a quiet, careful, and secretive manner to avoid being noticed.

Hotton, however, stood out with his toughness and talent throughout the night.

The 20-year-old, who was taken by the Tigers with their third pick (No. 12 overall) in the 2024 AFL national draft, has had an injury-riddled start to his playing career at Punt Road. But in just his third senior game this season, and 10th all-up, Hotton showed why he was so highly rated as a junior footballer.

He had an AFL career-high 18 disposals against the Blues, along with an equal team-high 10 contested possessions, one goal (and a ripping one it was), seven score involvements, three inside-50s, four clearances, AFL career-high five intercepts, four tackles and 144 metres gained.

It was the type of display that gives yellow and black barrackers so much to look forward to with Hotton’s development.

In his three games so far in season 2026, Hotton is ranked second among AFL rising stars in tackles per game, fourth in contested possessions per game, fifth in handballs per game and seventh in centre clearances per game.