Chris Toce's parting gift to the Richmond Football Club is Sam Lalor. The beloved recruiting manager left a lasting impact in seven short months at Tigerland.
Toce moved from Moorabbin to Punt Road in March but fell ill to an aggressive cancer at the beginning of June. He battled his sickness and tragically passed away within five months of the diagnosis. But he didn't let it stop him from doing the job he loved.
Toce attended junior football games between rounds of chemotherapy this year. He passed away on the final day of the trade period -- the day Richmond landed a seismic eight picks in the top 24.
Wearing a Tigers polo with 'CT' embroidered onto its breast, list boss Blair Hartley told media at Marvel Stadium on Wednesday night that Toce provided the blueprint to select Lalor first overall.
Before getting the Richmond job he was tasked with ranking the 2024 cohort a year out from the draft, and landed with Lalor at no. 1.
"As part of his application for the job he had to assess the draft pool for this year, and that was done in February-March," Hartley said.
"Sammy [Lalor] was highly touted at that point but probably not at the pointy end.
"He went back over all the vision and came out from Chris at number one.
"We made sure that we were at every game that he played."
Lalor possesses qualities of the very best midfielders in the game. He's a fierce competitor with the physical stature, power and bravado of a game-breaker. He dominates contested ball, hits targets, clunks contested marks and kicks goals.
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Hartley doesn't like comparing him to a recently-retired Richmond great, but there are uncanny similarities in Lalor's game to Dustin Martin.
Richmond well and truly took swings on upside, and Lalor is no exception. At pick No. 7 Josh Smillie has the tools to be the next great 190cm-plus midfielder. They pounced on early-season sensation Taj Hotton despite a ruptured ACL, and took key position talent in the form of Jonty Faull, Luke Trainor and Harry Armstrong.
Their most successful move may prove to be a trade out of the final pick of the first round, snaring North Melbourne's future first-rounder for pick 27 and a future second-rounder. It gives Richmond a massive chance at landing Dyson Sharp and/or Willem Duursma, the leading contenders for the No. 1 selection in 2025.
The Tigers held all the cards on night one, and it was difficult to see them not capitalising. But their upside swings coupled with savvy moves and patient investments are the decisions of a unified recruitment team under Hartley.
For as long as he's in the yellow and black Sam Lalor will represent the lasting legacy of Chris Toce. He's had a profound impact on the club's six picks in the first round of the 2024 AFL Draft. It's the beloved recruiter's parting gift to the game he loved.
With Chris in their hearts, the Tiges nailed this one.