OVERVIEW

Richmond fans' season just keeps on getting better with an early Christmas present in the form of Patrick Naish. Son of former Tiger Chris, Patrick is a classy outside midfielder from the Northern Knights. The 18 year old averaged 19 touches in his eight games for the Knights this season and had a very strong showing during the Under 18 Championships gathering around 21 disposals a game. Naish also has the ability to push forward and score goals and apply pressure to the opposition defence. He will still need to develop an inside game and make better decisions with ball in hand at times, but overall Naish is a very handy father-son prospect. At AFL level Naish will join the likes of Rioli and Castagna up forward.

STRENGTHS

• Balanced
• Pressure acts
• Speed
• Good overhead mark

Naish has a number of strengths which standout when watching him play. When making the right decisions Naish is capable of kicking on either foot, which was exemplified by his 24/30 score on the kicking test at the National Combine. His best work comes when he is playing on the outside and working with space around him. This showed during the National Under 18 Championships where he averaged 16 uncontested possession from his average 21 disposals.

Naish is quite quick and uses this to his advantage as he loves to go for a run with the footy and creates a lot of opportunities for his teammates up forward. During the National Under 18 Championships he averaged more than four inside 50s per game. For an outside midfielder, Naish is very good defensively and isn't afraid to go in to lay a tackle and apply a lot of pressure. At 180cm Naish is a strong overhead mark and capable of clunking grabs against opponents bigger and stronger than him, averaging five marks during the National Under 18 Championships.

IMPROVEMENTS

• Decision Making
• Inside game

Although a clean user of the footy, Naish can sometimes go for a miracle shot on goal or pass rather than going for a more simpler option. At AFL level it will be important for Naish to correct this as these decisions will lead to a turnover and more often then not a goal to the opposition. Despite being balanced and capable of disposing of the ball on both feet, Naish's decision making can lead to a clanger or two each game and it is an area he will need to sharpen up for the future.

Secondly, Naish also needs to improve his inside game. While he has the body to be effective both inside and out, he won less than 40 per cent of his possessions in a contest, playing up forward after spending last season down back. He averaged less than two clearances a game and laid just 2.6 tackles per game in the TAC Cup which was less than his 3.3 per game in the National Under 18 Championships.

DRAFT PROJECTION: 20-30

SUMMARY

Patrick Naish is definitely an exciting prospect for the Tigers. He has the potential to be a very good outside midfielder, however it will take time to develop. Expect to see him start his AFL career predominantly in the forward line before making the move into the midfield. Naish also showed he is a big game player as he lifted his form during the National Under 18 Championships and was played his best game of he season for the Knights in their elimination final loss. He will be a very handy pick up for the Tigers.