Collingwood Magpies' speedy forward attracting rival interest as contract status hangs in the balance

Joe Richards turned the heads of recruiters after his AFL debut for the Collingwood Magpies against the West Coast Eagles in Round 9. Taking his chance with high-profile Pies smalls Jamie Elliott injured and prize recruit Lachie Schultz suspended, Richards continued his hot VFL form with an impressive 18 disposals, three assists and a goal.

It's a happy problem for the Pies as they probably have the best stable of small forwards in the competition. Grand Final hero Bobby Hill and injured Beau McCreery are first choices, with the likes of Harvey Harrison also ahead of the newest debutant for the club.

Richards was talent-scouted out of Wangaratta in the Ovens & Murray League after going undrafted for four years. COVID-19 shutting things down didn't help his cause as well.

Rookie Central described him in their draft notes:

"The speedy small midfielder is a strong runner, blending his explosive pace with a high work rate to produce productive run-and-carry into attack. He's a player with weapons, possessing handy skills and a decent mark for a player his size, compounding the impact he has with ball in hand."

Collingwood's preseason supplemental selection period smokies

The list with the fewest names after the 2023 draft belonged to Collingwood, so it soon became the place to be for undrafted prospects.

This year, Jack Bytel, Lachie Sullivan and Josh Eyre got thrown SSP lifelines by the Premiers, a year after unwanted Oleg Markov got picked up on his unlikely journey to a flag inside seven months.

Collingwood has fleshed out its list creatively since their salary cap disaster. However, Richards was actually drafted at the bottom of the third round in 2022, so his bargain value has gone up even if Collingwood decides to try to keep him as his initial two-year contract expires this year.

This could end up being a case of the Pies' recruiters being too smart for their own good if they are forced to move Richards on for the value of his senior roster spot.