Newly appointed Richmond Head of Development, Chris Newman, fronted media today to provide an overview of the Club's new coaching structures, Irish train-ons John Phiri and Evan Boyle, expectations ahead of the AFL Draft and an update on Josh Smillie. 

Newman on his new appointment to the Club’s Head of Development role...

“I had the conversation with Tim [Livingstone] and Ooze [Adem Yze] at the end of last year, and they were really keen for me to try a different role and connect with some of the younger boys, and so, in terms of my coaching development, it's a great opportunity for me,” Newman said on Friday.

“We've obviously got a lot of the younger boys here. There's around 22 under four-year (players), so it's a big group of players to work with and an exciting group. I’m looking forward to getting into it.

“We've got a great development crew. We've got Jack Madgen, Taylor Duryea, and Luke Breust, so we very much share the responsibility there. Jack Ziebell did an outstanding job last year in that role and I’m trying to pick their brains.

“It'll be a learning experience for me, and I think the main priority is just to connect with the lads as quickly as possible. I'd like to think I've got pretty good relationships with them already, so we're off to a good start, and then we'll welcome in some new boys next week.”

Newman on the importance of staying connected over the off-season...

“It's always been a theme of ours. We want the group to connect and be a really close-knit group,” Newman said.

“So when times get tough, we stay together. I think when you step into the four walls of the Richmond footy club, it's definitely something that is in the forefront of our minds."

Newman on the appointment of Brett Ratten as Head of Coaching and Strategy...

“I've worked with Ratto in the past at the Hawks, so I’ve got a really good relationship with him straight away,” Newman said.

“He's coached at the highest level, he's been a senior coach and he offers another experienced opinion and point of view, not only for the coaches, but also for Yze.

“His role is essentially strategy, but also to make the coaches better, and that's really important for us. We demand that from the players every day to get better, and it's great that Brett's here to help us get better as well."

On the two Irish train-ons, John Phiri and Evan Boyle, joining pre-season in search of a Category B Rookie list spot...

“They're great. They rolled into our team meeting this morning, and they're staying with a couple of our lads at the moment who are helping them through,” Newman said.

“They expected them to be sleeping this morning (after landing from Ireland last night), but they were first up. They're really excited, and they're a little bit shocked by the environment here and how upbeat we are, all those types of things.

“They've got a lot to learn, but I think the thing we're looking for with those two lads is just come in and play your normal style of footy, obviously from a Gaelic background, but come and showcase what you've got. We're looking forward to what those two lads can bring for us."

“It's our responsibility to make them feel really welcome at the Richmond footy club as quickly as possible, but also, if you've met those two lads, they're quite warm.

“They want to shake your hand, they want to get to know you, they want to get to know our game style, all those different things, and then when the time comes to go out there and compete, they're going to do that."

An update on Josh Smillie...

“He’s tracking really well. He's competed all of our sessions so far, and he's put a big body of work into the off-season to set him up for day one pre-season,” Newman said.

“He's not unlike all the other boys that are joining him. They've had a big block of work in that off-season to really make sure that we hit the ground running. I know you'll hear that quite a lot over the summer, but (he’s) ticking boxes at the moment and looking good.”

On what the Club is hoping to acquire in this year’s draft...

“Some talent to help us improve would be amazing. I've spent a little bit of time with the recruiting team this off-season, and the power of work that they put in, it's just incredible,” Newman said.

“Across the board, at every club, those guys behind the scenes, there are a lot of hours going out to watch games all weekend, and then they're getting the vision on the computer.

“I've been really impressed with the amount of knowledge that they've got from the draft pool already. They've managed to get us a really strong position to be able to pick two impressive lads, so I’m looking forward to seeing how that plays out.”