Richmond’s involvement in the early stages of last year’s draft was unprecedented for an established AFL club.

After finishing bottom of the ladder,then losing Liam Baker,Daniel Rioli,Shai Bolton and Jack Graham during the trade period,the Tigers took a wealth of picks to the draft,including the prized first selection they used to secure Lalor.

In total,they had a quarter (seven) of the first 28 picks in the draft,and took eight players in total. Lalor will wear number 22,Trainor number 31 and Armstrong 34.

Fellow draftees Josh Smillie,Taj Hotton,Jonty Faull,Thomas Sims and Jasper Alger will wait a little longer for their opportunity at senior level.

McRae avoids fine for interaction with Giants player

Collingwood coach Craig McRae has escaped financial sanction for his verbal exchange with a Giants player and the GWS coach during Sunday’s game.

The league warned McRae about his behaviour on the bench but did not issue a fine for the exchange when McRae was calling out to player Toby Bedford.

McRae’s comments to Bedford,who had been tagging Nick Daicos and was involved in an off-the-ball incident with Reef McInnes where he gave away a free kick,prompted Giants coach Adam Kingsley to walk towards McRae on the bench and call back at him,better than that.

The pair shook hands after the match,and Kingsley played down the incident on Monday morning.

“There wasn’t much in it. To be frank,I didn’t appreciate some of the cheering directed towards Toby,” the Giants coach told SEN.

“I just felt obliged to say,‘Don’t do that,that’s not on’. There wasn’t any abuse,let’s be really clear about that.”

The official warning was a contrast to the fine for Port coach Ken Hinkley for his sledge of Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan and airplane mime after last year’s semi-final victory by Port. Hinkley was fined $20,000 for the on-field exchange.

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson was fined $20,000 last year for an inappropriate outburst towards St Kilda players Jimmy Webster and Dougal Howard after the Webster was involved in an incident that left Kangaroo Jy Simpkin concussed. Clarkson was given a two-game ban suspended until the end of the 2025 season and agreed to not coach from the bench last season.

The AFL said McRae’s incident was at the lower end of the scale,but warned him about his behaviour on the bench.

“After reviewing the AFL match manager’s report and speaking with both clubs overnight and again this morning,the AFL Football Department has warned Collingwood coach Craig McRae and reminded him of his responsibilities while coaching from the bench. No further action will be taken,” an AFL spokesman said.

“McRae said ‘well done’ to an opposition player who gave away a free kick as he came to the bench. GWS coach Adam Kingsley saw the interaction and then told McRae ‘he was better than that’,with McRae then sitting down.

“When on the bench or on-field,interactions between officials,coaches and/or opposition players need to continue to be conducted in a professional manner.”

AFL match review officer Michael Christian also cleared ruckman Darcy Cameron over the marking contest that saw Giants ruckman Kieran Briggs stretchered from the ground in a neck brace and taken to hospital after being nudged into a collision.

Meanwhile,the Magpies remain confident star midfielder Nick Daicos only suffered from bad cramp during Sunday’s game and had not sustained an injury.

Jordan De Goey trained on Monday and has not yet been ruled out of playing in Saturday night’s round one clash with Port Adelaide at the MCG.

With a six-day break,and coming off a game played in hot and humid conditions that saw many players cramping,the Magpies will consider,even this early in the season,whether to rest one or more of their veterans.

With an average age of 28.2 years,Collingwood on Sunday fielded the oldest opening round team of any club this century.

The second-oldest opening round team was Hawthorn (average age 28.1) in 2020,with the third-oldest being Collingwood last year (27.9).

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