Ivan Soldo has edged out his older cousin Ivan Maric and will assume the bulk of the Richmond ruck duties when he makes his AFL debut against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.
With first-choice ruck Toby Nankervis unavailable due to suspension, Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said it came down to a choice between the experience of 157-gamer Maric and the exuberance of the 20-year-old Soldo.
The younger man ended up getting the nod, only hours after being promoted from the rookie list.
He will receive some support from recalled tall utility Todd Elton.
The Bulldogs also have a makeshift ruck division, with Tom Boyd their only specialist after they chose not to recall Tom Campbell.
"(Soldo and Maric) are incredibly close and whichever way it goes, they will be supportive of each other," Hardwick said earlier on Thursday before the teams were named.
"We have Ivan's experience that we like and then we've got Soldo's youth and exuberance that we like also."
While the Tigers were disappointed to lose Nankervis for such a crucial clash, Hardwick admitted it was a fine balancing act between encouraging and containing the ruckman's aggression.
"We prefer he keeps his arms down, obviously. It's much like probably the conversation Leon Cameron (GWS Giants coach) had with Toby Greene (suspended forward), you take that (aggression) away and they probably lose the player they are," Hardwick said.
"There was a guy at Hawthorn, Campbell Brown who used to be very similar. You take that emphasis off the player physically and how they play aggressively and they can become a lesser player as a result.
"So we want (Nankervis) to be more controlled with his aggression, but we want him to continue to push the envelope with his physicality."
Richmond made four changes at the selection table, bringing in Soldo, Elton and midfield duo Anthony Miles and Corey Ellis.
Boom recruit Dion Prestia was ruled out with a hamstring issue, injury-prone defender Reece Conca will miss up to six weeks with a foot complaint and small defender Steven Morris was dropped.
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