Newly-crowned AFLW No.1 draft pick Olivia Wolmarans wants to repay Richmond's faith by taking the struggling Tigers to the top.
Richmond, who finished 16th and sacked coach Ryan Ferguson, traded for Gold Coast's top pick to have first crack at the cream of the crop in this year's draft.
After flirting with picking either Scarlett Johnson (pick No.2, GWS) or Chloe Bown (pick No.5, Adelaide), the Tigers opted for power forward Wolmarans.
"I think I have that energy for Tigers to bring them up, and hopefully we can win a flag," the confident 18-year-old said.
"It means a lot to me that they did that (traded up), but just having conversations with them, they already backed me in, I could see they could believe in me already as a player.
"So I'm now going to give it back to them and show them how much I can improve their team and bring them to the top again."
Wolmarans, who wants to be a police officer in the future, will move east as soon as possible.
She relishes the prospect of playing alongside star Tiger Monique Conti and veteran Katie Brennan and is ready to stamp herself on the league.
"I'm always going to have that cheeky grin of mine, but I'm pretty laid back," she said.
"You're going to see me move across the ball with my speed, and also me taking contested marks, so hopefully I take a hanger.
"I play my own game. I don't really play like anyone. I look for attributes from players, but I think I play my own game."
Wolmarans was a heptathlete before turning her attention full-time to football, and has no regrets over her career choice.
"I've always known since I was little that I wanted to play AFLW," she said.
"Seeing the girls on the TV, I just wanted to be just like them.
"And here I am standing here, pick one, it's amazing, and it's probably my best achievement yet."
It was a banner night for wooden-spooners Gold Coast, who had six academy selections inside the top 15 and eight overall.
The Suns matched bids for Sunny Lappin (No. 4), Ava Usher (No.7), Georja Davies (No.9), Alannah Welsh (No.12), Mikayla Nurse (No.13) and Dekota Baron (No.15) in the first round before snagging Bronte Parker (No.32) and Rhianna Ingram (No.44).
The Swans didn't match GWS's bid for Kiera Yerbury at pick No.3 but snapped up Alex Neyland at No.6 and grabbed Madeleine Quinn at No.18.
It meant three Sydney prospects also landed in the first round, making for 11 academy products in the northern states.
"It's awesome. It shows that it's definitely a bigger sport than just Victoria," Yerbury said.
"I'm glad that I can play my part in that. It's a great opportunity for people from other states to make their mark in footy."
