RICHMOND has declared it would be more than willing to place a bid on father-son and Academy tied duo Cody Walker or Dougie Cochrane later this year, following an alteration to the draft rules earlier this season.

Clubs who have a top five pick pushed back due to matched bids will now get a compensation selection at the start of the draft's second round, with Carlton's Walker and Port Adelaide's Cochrane both expected to go early.

The Tigers, who are currently second-last on the AFL ladder, have revealed they would be looking to take advantage of the potential compensation package, with their recruiting boss Rhy Gieschen telling AFL.com.au's Gettable earlier this week that the club would stick to its draft order no matter what.

"It does [come into the thinking]," Gieschen said on Gettable.

"You look at draft rules over the journey and you always look at ways to maximise your own hand and what that looks like. If the player was rated at the top, you certainly wouldn't be shy in doing that and we've done that in the past.

"I don't think pick No.1 is any different to pick No.2 or No.3, you just stick to your order. Obviously, there's the bonus that if you do get pushed back you get that extra pick. I think that will certainly come into teams' considerations.

"But we don't want pick No.1, we've won two of our last four and we think we can win some games in the back end of the year. Wherever we sit in the draft order, we'll go with our talent order."

Richmond is among the clubs expected to be vying for 205cm ruck prospect Harry van Hattum in this draft crop, with the Northern Knights youngster already emerging as potentially the best teenager in the open pool.

The athletic van Hattum has dominated at school level with Ivanhoe Grammar this season, showcasing his remarkable ability both aerially and at ground level alongside his size and presence.

"He's a great kid," Gieschen said.

"He's actually had limited exposure to the talent pathway, I think he only played six games of Talent league last year and I think he's played one this year before he had a little injury and the school footy period.

"They're still probably feeling their way through their draft year. They played the Academy games, but I think the Champs will be good for him to really get into the talent season. Going back to school footy, I think he's looking forward to coming up against some good opposition and seeing what he can do.

"But the attention on these guys is bigger than ever and it feels like he's just getting to work and trying to improve his game. He's a young, developing, tall player, so there's so much upside with him."

Gieschen said he was excited by the 2026 crop, saying a number of players were still in contention to be among the top picks, with Richmond looking to grow its developing group after taking eight first-round selections across the last two drafts.

"A ball hasn't been bounced at the Champs yet," Gieschen said.

"We discuss this a lot and we talk about if we were to have a pick up the top, what it would look like. Clearly, Harry, Dougie and Cody have got runs on the board. Arki Butler had a quality under-16s and bottom-age year, then there's a group of players that have come out and impressed since then.

"There are always guys that emerge through the Champs and in the back end, so you don't want to put too many names up now. You've just got to wait, see and assess. You don't have to make a decision until November, so it's a patience game."