The 195cm key position player signed with the club as a Category Two rookie, meaning it will not count as a draft pick in the upcoming National Draft.
Richmond was acquired in similar fashion to defender Lachlan Keeffe and promising ruckman Jarrod Witts with the Tasmanian showing encouraging signs in his athletic testing conducted at the Westpac Centre over the last month.
“Ben has been at the club over the last couple of weeks and during that time he has undertaken a series of tests inclusive of both physical and game assimilation,” National Recruiting Manager Derek Hine told collingwoodfc.com.au.
“His results have been encouraging and he has displayed an ability to very quickly pick up on the tuition provided by our development coaches”.
Hine is confident that Richmond’s experience at the Australian Institute of Sport, where he was among the nation’s most promising young basketballers, will serve him well in his football journey.
“Coming from an elite basketball program (at the AIS) he is very professional in all of his training habits and he has very quickly adapted to our systems and processes.
“Athletically, Ben is an endurance based athlete with a strong vertical leap where his testing placed him the highest in our senior list testing.
“Although we haven’t singled out any specific position for Ben, at 195cm, he will potentially provide the scope as a key forward or back.”
Having secured Richmond, the Magpies will enter the 2013 season with six players (including Irish pair Marty Clarke and Caolan Mooney, NSW products Tom Young and Michael Hartley and former soccer player Keeffe) who have entered the competition via non-traditional pathways.?
Hine says that the changing landscape of the AFL means that it is imperative that clubs mine for talent outside of the obvious streams.
“Due to the diminished talent pools and the potential to list the athlete without having to go to the draft we feel it is important that we continue to source alternative talent who can potentially adapt and play the game at the highest level.
“We have a well resourced development coaching structure which can accommodate the specialized needs to develop the athlete as such we see it as an area we will continue to provide the football club with a competitive advantage.”
“Lachlan Keeffe, Martin Clarke, Caolan Mooney and Tom Young are all players who have played senior football in 2012 who entered our system from non-traditional pathways. We are hopeful that Ben can at some stage in the future join them as senior players at the Collingwood Football Club.”
Richmond will officially join Collingwood’s rookie list when the Rookie Draft is held on 11 December.
