Richmond Has Five Bench Spots. What Is the Extra One Actually For?
Updated: 3 days ago
Richmond has five full interchange players now. The AFL removed the substitute for 2026, but the 75-rotation cap stayed. That sounds like more flexibility. The harder Richmond question is whether the extra active place should change how many players still have to be utilities.
Across the rebuild, James Trezise has moved between wing and half-back. Luke Trainor has been asked to survive key-defensive jobs when the tall stocks disappeared. Noah Balta can solve problems in defence, the ruck and attack. Sam Banks has carried both wing and half-back experience.
Injuries made some of that unavoidable. But the fifth bench spot creates a new question for 2027.
Should Richmond now be able to select a genuine wing, a genuine second ruck, a specialist defensive matchup or a specific forward function — and leave more developing players in the jobs the club actually wants them to master?
Or will the extra bench place simply create more movement without creating more clarity?
What should the fifth interchange player protect? Which roles should stop moving? And by what point in 2027 should Richmond supporters be able to look at the selected 23 and understand what job each player actually owns?
Because that is exactly what the full Season 27 feature examines.
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