SEASON 27: Nick Austin Was at Richmond From 2011 to 2018. What Was He Actually Responsible For?

Richmond has described Nick Austin’s first stint at Punt Road as six and a half years in list management and recruiting. That broad description makes the supporter conclusion tempting: Austin was there while Richmond found a remarkable group of premiership players, so he must have been the recruiter responsible for finding them.

But the contemporary record contains several job titles at the same time. Francis Jackson was publicly identified as Richmond’s Recruiting Manager through the bulk of those drafts. Matthew Clarke was promoted to National Recruiting Manager after the 2016 draft. Blair Hartley was described as the person in charge of the list and its direction. Austin was later identified as an opposition analyst and pro scout inside the list-management group.

So when Richmond says Nick Austin helped build the premiership list, what work was actually his — and what have supporters accidentally credited to one man because the real system was harder to see?

That distinction matters now. Austin has returned as List Strategy and Player Acquisition, not as Richmond’s National Recruiting Manager. Before we decide what his return should change in 2027, we need to work out what Richmond was actually teaching him the first time.

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