Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton believes the Tigers might lose a little bit of their edge if they recruit free agent Tom Lynch.
Lynch will leave the Suns after eight seasons on the Gold Coast, and despite not officially announcing his preferred destination, it's widely expected he'll select Richmond in the coming days.
Even though Lynch is a very good forward in his own right, Brereton believes Richmond could compromise their structures a little to accomodate for Lynch.
“The hardest and most difficult time any team has had dealing with Richmond was last season when they got on a roll and their three small forwards were able to surge and run with the flight of the ball,” Brereton told SEN’s Crunch Time.
“They outran everybody. They’ll still be able to do that a little bit, but not the same.
“If you’ve put in a second big, key marking forward, they’re not playing that run back to goal that teams fear anymore.”
Former Western Bulldogs captain Robert Murphy joined in on the debate, and said the upcoming off-season for the Tigers is massive, as they try to build him into their game plan.
“I think it’s the right call to get Tom Lynch, I think their summer becomes a cram session because it’ll just change the way they play,” Murphy added.
“We’ve got such a clear idea of how Richmond play and how their forward line works and the landscape is so different now.
“Their forward pressure which has been so hard to get out of, with another tall, it just makes it that bit easier.”