Two-time premiership Tiger Shai Bolton has officially joined Fremantle, with Richmond agreeing to a deal on Wednesday that will send the livewire forward back to his home state.
The Dockers will significantly boost Richmond's already-huge amount of first-round selections, sending picks 10, 11, and 18 to Punt Road, whilst Fremantle will also receive Pick 14 and a future third-rounder alongside Bolton.
The 135-gamer adds x-factor to a Fremantle team on the rise, who marginally missed out on this year's finals series.
Trade approved.
Richmond trades Shai Bolton, its 2024 Round One selection (currently 14) and its 2025 Round Three selection (tied to Richmond) to Fremantle for its three 2024 Round One selections (currently 10, 11 and 18) in the 2024 and 2025 Telstra AFL Drafts respectively.
— AFL House (@AFL_House) October 16, 2024
Bolton, who played predominantly in the midfield and across the forward line in 2024, will be a livewire inclusion around star midfielders Caleb Serong, Andrew Brayshaw, and Hayden Young, as well as a dangerous presence near emerging forwards Jye Amiss and Josh Treacy.
An additional three first-round picks have furthered Richmond's aggressive approach to this year's draft. With Bolton's deal done, the Tigers now hold Picks 1, 6, 10, 11, 18, 20, 23 and 24. With the Daniel Rioli trade also locked away, Richmond gain selections 6 and 23, taking their draft hand to eight in the top 25 selections.
SEE MORE: Richmond's historic draft hand as Dockers secure Pick 14
Following the Bolton deal, Fremantle's first selection on draft night looks set to be Pick 30, followed later with Pick 67. The arrival of Bolton is Fremantle's first player trade this AFL trade period, as fellow former Tiger Liam Baker joined state rivals West Coast on Tuesday.
Bolton will also make history when he joins the Dockers as the club's first father-son duo, following in the footsteps of his father Darren.
Darren played two games for Fremantle in 1999 after being taken in the Rookie Draft from Peel Thunder.
Darren won the best and fairest award at the WAFL club the year before and was promoted to the elite level.
The Bolton's don't satisfy the father-son criteria (given Darren didn't play 100 or more games), it will be the club's first multi-generational duo.
The Dockers have never had the son of an ex-player line up in purple in an AFL game, despite some near-misses.
