Tigers toy with ruck pinch-hitter surprise

RICHMOND appears set to unleash 21 members of last year’s premiership team against Collingwood next week and is toying with the shock idea of using Marlion Pickett as its second ruckman.

Veteran Bachar Houli starred in yesterday’s fiercely competitive intra-club, where the Tigers pitted their best line-up against the rest of their list. Houli, 32, missed Round 1 with a calf strain but appears set to replace Sydney Stack after Stack lined up in the “B team” yesterday.

Jack Higgins was the B team’s best player at Punt Road yesterday and is on track to make a remarkable return from brain surgery early in the season.

Midfielder Jack Ross was trialled at half-back. Ross, Higgins, Stack and Jack Graham — all of whom missed last year’s flag — are competing for the final one or two places in the Round 2 line-up.

Ruckmen Ivan Soldo and Toby Nankervis competed against each other as the Tigers remain unsure on their strategy.

The big men appear likely to team up against Collingwood’s Brodie Grundy and either Mason Cox or Darcy Cameron next week, as well as in Round 5 when Richmond takes on West Coast’s Nic Naitanui and Tom Hickey.

But assistant coach Justin Leppitsch hinted that they would drop a ruckman to play an extra midfielder in some games.

Pickett, at just 184cm, is in the mix to replicate pinch-hitter Shaun Grigg’s old role as the No.1 ruckman’s understudy in those matches.

“[Pickett’s] one of the more mobile, leaner-type midfielders that can do that,” Leppitsch said. “I don’t think [Grigg] really competed that heavily in the ruck contest, it was more having that extra midfielder and using his smarts to get an advantage out of that.”