Graham Polak's AFL career hangs in the balance with Richmond delisting the key defender with a view to possibly recruiting him back as a mature-age rookie.
Polak has played just two matches since his return from serious head injuries suffered when he was struck by a tram in July 2008.
Richmond General Manager of Football, Craig Cameron, said that the club would look into the possibility of keeping Polak at the club via the 2009 Rookie Draft, but offered no guarantee that he would extend his 35-game career at Richmond.
"We will investigate the opportunity of offering Graham Polak a position on our rookie list through the 2009 Rookie Draft, but obviously this will not be confirmed until after the draft has taken place," he said.
Polak could yet nominate for the pre-season draft, which is before the rookie draft, and be picked up by another club, or Melbourne could pick him up ahead of the Tigers in the rookie draft.
Richmond confirmed that nine players had been delisted from the club, including four who have played more than 50 games - Nathan Brown, Mark Coughlan, Kayne Pettifer and Adam Pattison joining retirees Joel Bowden and Kane Johnson in one of the biggest clear outs at an AFL club in recent memory.
Cleve Hughes, Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls, Dean Putt and Jarrod Silvester are the other players who have been delisted, while Andrew Raines and Jay Schulz have been traded to Brisbane and Port Adelaide respectively.
Richmond has selections 3, 19, 35, 44, 51, 67, 72 and 83 in the 2009 National Draft.