RICHO’S TOP 10: AFL players’ weights should not be kept secret, while Sam Lalor victim of AFL injury crisis

1. Not listing players’ official weight is just ridiculous in my opinion.

As a broadcaster you want to be able to talk about the development of players, particularly when looking at key positional players. Part of that assessment is to see how much muscle mass they have gained. The bigger they have gotten shows they are ready to compete as a key positional player. We currently can’t do that. Your eyes might tell you they have bulked up, but you can’t confirm it with the data. Surely as a professional sportsman you shouldn’t have an issue with your weight being listed. Jake Stringer was criticised for being overweight at the Bombers, while Clayton Oliver and Jack Graham revealed they were told they were too overweight to get drafted before undergoing body transformations.

2. There is an epidemic in the AFL with injuries. In particular for first year players.

Why is this? Well, it’s quite clear to me. We have a season that now stretches to 30 weeks from opening round to the grand final. It used to be 26. List sizes have been reduced over the years as well. We also have a shortened pre-season which means less conditioning time. This means kids are basically coming from high school footy/under-18s straight into senior AFL action. That’s a huge step up. The game has never been more intense and physically demanding. The loss of Sam Lalor for the rest of the season to a hamstring injury is massive blow for the Tigers. He didn’t have a proper pre-season because of his cricketing background which didn’t help his preparation. The bodies of young players are simply not ready. Gone is an apprenticeship in the VFL for 12 months. Some kids like Harry Sheezel are ready but most are not. We need to look at this issue as an industry ASAP.

3. On this topic this is why the American football system works so well.

Instead of jumping straight out of high school into an ultra-professional environment players have time to develop their body and hone their skills in the college system for three to four years. They then get drafted into the NFL when they are ready physically to compete at the highest level. We clearly will never have this system, but is there a way we can give these young players more time to develop before they are thrown to the wolves?

4. This one is really short and sweet from me.

The proposal of an in-season tournament is a big no. Please just stop trying to introduce something new every year. Gather Round has been a huge success that the AFL deserves credit for. Opening Round doesn’t work and isn’t a success. So, let’s fix that one and then leave the draw and season alone for a while.

5. Friday night footy heads to the Gabba for an important game between two potent scoring teams in Brisbane and the Bulldogs.

Over the next three weeks the Lions really have an opportunity to launch their attempt at back-to-back flags. After the Dogs they play the Suns and then the Pies at the MCG. If they can get through these games in good shape, they will be much better placed to make it two flags on the trot. For the Dogs they really have to show they are not an also-ran tomorrow night. They have a 1-7 record against the other top nine teams, so this is almost a must-win game for them. The weak spot for both teams is in defence. With Jack Payne and now Noah Answerth down and injured for Lions they have lost both their lockdown defenders. Aside from Rory Lobb at the Dogs Bevo is still searching for that second key tall. The Crows talls kicked 11 goals on them last week. I’m not sure who the second tall is going to be. They may have to settle on James O’Donnell playing tall a bit like the Lions are doing with Ryan Lester. Can’t wait for the bounce of the ball to start this one.

6. The Blues have a serious problem on their hands.

They have a serious lack of pace and ball. What they do well they do very well. Contest, clearance and getting the ball in their hands is fine, but once they get it, they can’t get move the ball quickly and they hand it back to the opposition. All the top teams are playing the turnover to score game. The game is trending this way. So, over the summer the Blues need to address it. They have players with trade value and will need to look at all options to address this issue. JUApart from Patrick Cripps, Charlie Curnow and Jacob Weitering I think all other players are on the table.

7. July 11, 2025, is the day the Gold Coast Suns arrived as a serious football team.

It’s hard to argue with that win. They will play finals for the first time in the club’s history buoyed by the gritty, disciplined victory over the flag favourites. Holding Collingwood goalless in two and a half quarters was a supreme defensive effort, only to then give up a 40-point lead. To then regroup and win after Collingwood got in front with half the last quarter to play was a huge sign of maturity and leadership. With Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell leading the way the Suns are finally growing up. It’s great for the national competition and footy in Queensland.

8. If you missed Josh Daicos’ last quarter against the Suns last Friday night, it’s worth a look.

With the Pies 28 points down, Daicos put in one of the best quarters I’ve seen in recent memory. Having been moved to the midfield in the third quarter he nearly got Collingwood over the line in the last quarter. Check out these numbers. In the final quarter he had two goals from 16 disposals, 10 contested possessions, five tackles, four clearances and gained 311 metres. Sublime stuff. After this performance he needs to play in the midfield more often in the final stages of this season. He could be an A-grade midfielder with more performances like that.

9. The other team that has now convinced the footy world they are the real deal is the Adelaide Crows.

They haven’t played a final since the 2017 grand final but will this year and the double chance is now theirs to lose. With a great defence and a very disciplined midfield group I think they will do it. Their greatest strength is forward of the footy. The three-headed monster of Riley Thilthorpe, Darcy Fogarty and Tex Walker, combined with the electrifying Izak Rankine and the hard run and discipline of Ben Keays and Alex Neal-Bullen are making them impossible to stop. That’s a well-balanced forward line. Get excited Crows fans.

10. South African cricket captain Wiaan Mulder last week decided to declare while he was not out on 367 with Brian Lara’s test record of 400 there for the taking.

He said afterwards that record was reserved for legends of the game like Lara and should not be broken. So that got me thinking what footy records won’t be broken. Fred Fanning’s goal record of 18 in a game will never be broken. Tony Lockett’s all time goal record of 1360 goals will never be broken. Fitzroy’s winning margin of 190 point against Melbourne, Alex Jesaulenko’s 12 behinds in a game, St Kilda’s one point in an entire game and Stevie J’s 12 goal assists. None of those will ever be broken. Agree or disagree?