1. Brett Deledio (Murray Bushrangers) 17, 188cm, 81kg
4. Richard Tambling (Southern Districts) 18, 181cm, 74kg
12. Danny Meyer (Glenelg) 18, 183cm, 70kg
16. Adam Pattison (Northern Knights) 18, 198cm, 90kg
20. Dean Polo (Gippsland Power) 18, 187cm, 78kg
36. Luke McGuane (Broadbeach) 17, 191cm, 76kg
52. Dean Limbach (Calder Cannons) 18, 192cm, 77kg
65. Mark Graham (Hawthorn) 31, 190cm, 90kg
72. Pass.

After the Fact: 2005
It's always fun to go back and look at the draft picks after we've seen them on the field for a year! Brett Deledio had a breakout year, no doubt about it, earning the NAB AFL Rising Star Medal! Richard Tambling saw a fair bit of action as well, though it seemed he lived in the media shadow of Deledio. Danny Meyer played in 6 games in 2005 and shows a lot of promise. Adam Pattison played in 2 games and was voted Richmond’s best player with the Coburg Tigers. Luke McGuane suffered an upper arm fracture and was out for most of the season.

If you'd like to share your thoughts on any of the players, I'm listening!

From: Chris Greenway
Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2004 6:59 AM
Subject: The Draft
Hi Becky,
The top 4 choices were believed to be: Brett Deledio (tallish midfielder from Kyabram, despite being young he had a bit of size about him which I liked), Richard Tambling (small, blisteringly fast and exciting midfielder from the NT), Ryan Griffen (medium sized midfielder from SA, he never really figured in our calculations) and Jarryd Roughead (you gotta love him, just cos of the name, KPP player from country Victoria). There was quite a bit of debate amongst Richmond supporters about who out of Deledio and Tambling we should use the No 1 pick on. For varying reasons, in both the media and on PRE, Deledio just shaded Tambling. By this morning it was widely believed that we would pick Deledio with no 1, Hawthorn would get Tambling with 2, the Dogs would go for Griffen at 3 and we'd take Roughead with 4. As expected we took Deledio at 1, then things got weird. Hawthorn took Roughead at 2, despite telling anyone who would listen that they would take Tambling. As expected the Dogs took Griffen at 3, I think they may have committed before the draft. We got Tambling at 4! I couldn't believe it! This is like winning a really important game! Many are tipping Tambling to be better than Deledio and better than Davey, Wells and even Michael Long. Most of the others we drafted are either, quick, skilled or tall, in some cases they're all 3. It will take a few years, but throw these kids in with the likes of Roach, Raines, Jackson, Coughlan, Moore, Schulz and Hartigan and we're looking good. Initially the Hawk supporters were spitting chips that they didn't get Tambling. They've calmed down now and are saying that we'll regret taking a midfielder when we could have taken a KPP. Unfortunately for them it won't matter, they've got a lack of KPP's and none coming up until today. We've got some already and new ones coming through in Jackson, Moore and Schulz, plus at least 3 of the guys we picked up today are big and will develop into KPP's. Sorry about that Hawks you had a chance to build the best midfield in the league and you blew it. It's ours now! Every top side in the league has class midfielders complimented by solid if not spectacular KPP's. Midfielders win Premierships, not KPP's. The big forwards can't kick the goals if no one is getting the ball there. Anyway I'm really stoked and very excited. A new era is spawning for our Tigers, Becky. The giant is awakening.

Chris.