THE WILL-he-or-won't-he scenario in regards to star recruit Tom Lynch appearing in Richmond's season opener against Carlton on Thursday night is still to play out.
However, Tigers coach Damien Hardwick has cleared up one ongoing talking point about the former Gold Coast co-captain going into the ruck.
Pre-season cult hero Noah Balta is unlikely to compete alongside Lynch and Jack Riewoldt up forward, meaning No.1 ruckman Toby Nankervis' deputy was unknown.
The new 6-6-6 centre-bounce starting positions will make an undersized option such as Shaun Grigg, who Richmond used to great effect the past two seasons, more difficult to get away with.
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The Tigers used the 6-6-6 formation just 3.4 per cent of the time last year, less than any other side in the competition.
Hardwick hasn't ruled out bucking the trend and still turning to Grigg, at least once he eventually returns from his knee injury, but confirmed Lynch would be deployed in the ruck on occasion.
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"Tom probably will at stages, there's no doubt about that," Hardwick told AFL.com.au of Lynch spelling Nankervis in the ruck.
"At the end of the day, the second ruck for us plays, what, 10 per cent of the game? So he'll be pinch-hitting.
"Whether it's if he plays, say, on Thursday night, we're not too sure (because he's coming back from a long-term knee injury)."
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One of Balta or Callum Moore is set to partner Riewoldt in attack if Lynch fails to sufficiently recover in time for round one, Hardwick said.
That is already a switch from how Richmond operated during its 2017 premiership season and last year's run to a preliminary final, where Riewoldt was the sole genuine tall forward.
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How it ends up looking remains to be seen, but Hardwick said it was a work-in-progress and that the players themselves would play a role in determining where they position themselves.
"We're not expecting Tom to come in and be a superstar of the competition. We're expecting Tom to come in and play a really important role to us to make our side better," he said.
"Tom wants to win and that's what we're here to provide him and he's in to provide us a contest up forward that's going to allow our little blokes to be able to pressure and kick crumbing goals.
"The dynamic will take a little bit of time to figure out how it works best, but we'll allow Jack and Tom to make those decisions.
"With Tom coming in, it's hard to believe this, but I think Jack will become a better player … and instead of two guys hanging off him, he might be going back to one-on-one marking contests. That excites us."
Hardwick also emphatically rejected the notion the Tigers sold the farm to bring Lynch to Punt Road, with some critics suggesting they now lack depth.
Reece Conca (Fremantle), Corey Ellis and Anthony Miles (Gold Coast), Sam Lloyd (Western Bulldogs) and Tyson Stengle (Adelaide) all departed in last year's NAB AFL Trade Period.
Riewoldt and skipper Trent Cotchin were among those who restructured their contracts ahead of Lynch's arrival.
"The management of our cap is something we manage really carefully and our guys did a power of work two years ago on the Tom Lynch deal, so freeing up cap space for this to happen," the coach said.
"That's what smart clubs do and our club falls, I feel, into that category. We always knew this was what it was going to look like.
"It's not as if we all of a sudden said 'Let's go after, Tom – oh, geez, we've got to make some room and get rid of these blokes'.
"Our guys work very hard on understanding the length of contracts, the timing of contracts and the amount of money we need in certain situations, so it was a very calculated decision."
