Derek Eggmolesse-Smith
Derek Eggmolesse-Smith is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League. After being overlooked in the 2016 draft, he became the first player ever to be signed by the club under the Next Generation Academy rules when he was contracted in November 2017. He made his AFL debut for the club in round 16 of the 2019 season.
Early life, junior and state-league football
Eggmolesse-Smith grew up in Wentworth, New South Wales, a country town on the border with Victoria near Mildura, and is of Indigenous Australian descent. He played local junior football with Wentworth in the Sunraysia Football League including in an under 16s premiership in 2014 with fellow future AFL players Jarrod Brander and Kobe Mutch, before joining the academy of AFL club in its first intake in 2016. He was one of the first members of the club's newly created Next Generation Academy program for young Indigenous and multicultural players from the Sunraysia region of northern Victoria.In 2016 he was a standout player for Wentworth in SFNL, finishing the season by winning both the league's Rising Star and Best and fairest awards. He also played three matches that season for the region's junior representative team, the Bendigo Pioneers in the TAC Cup. In the lead up to the 2016 draft period, Richmond officially nominated Eggmolesse-Smith for priority draft access under the league's academy rules, enabling the club to sign him as a category B rookie should he be passed over by all other clubs in the national and rookie drafts. Though he would indeed go undrafted, Richmond ultimately decided to pass on the chance to sign him.
Ahead of the 2017 footballing season, Eggmolesse-Smith moved to Melbourne, pursuing an opportunity to play higher grade local football and train with Richmond's reserves team. That year he played with the Fitzroy Stars in the Northern Football League, returned to Wentworth for limited matches in the Sunraysia League and also featured with the Bendigo Pioneers in TAC Cup. He played VFL football for Richmond's reserves side for the first time in late-May 2017. That same month he played in an exhibition match for promising young indigenous footballers, held on the MCG prior to that season's Dreamtime at the 'G AFL match. Eggmoless-Smith finished the VFL season having played five matches and averaging 14 disposals per game.
Eggmolesse-Smith was again nominated by Richmond ahead of the 2017 draft period, with a media report from Fox Footy suggesting the club was considering using a national draft choice on him and was near-certain to sign him should he go undrafted.
AFL career
2018 season
Eggmolesse-Smith was signed by as a category B rookie in November 2017 under the league's academy rules. He was the first player from the program ever to be signed to the club's AFL list.He made his first appearance for Richmond when he represented the club in a series of AFLX exhibition matches in Sydney in February 2018. Before the season officially began however, Eggmolesse-Smith suffered a stress fracture in his lower leg. After spending most of the season on the sidelines, Eggmolesse-Smith returned to football with the club's reserves side in the VFL in early August. After finishing as minor premiers, Richmond's reserves side lined up a home qualifying final against Williamstown in which Eggmolesse-Smith featured as a defender. After a loss in that match, Richmond's reserves side suffered a knock-out loss the following week which saw the team and Eggmolesse-Smith's season come to a close. Eggmolesse-Smith finished 2018 having failed to earn an AFL debut, instead playing four matches with the club's reserves side in the VFL.
2019 season
After being re-contracted in the off-season, Egmolesse-Smith began the 2019 season with Richmond's VFL side where he impressed in pre-season matches in March. He continued at that level through the opening months of the season, impressing VFL coach Craig McRae with his defensive play. In early May Eggmolesse-Smith had what McCrae labelled "arguably the best game he’s played for the club" when he recorded 21 disposals and seven rebound-50s in a VFL win over. Later that month he played strongly in the club's Indigenous Round VFL match and featured in the club's the war cry performance ceremony before that match. Eggmolesse-Smith was named as an AFL-level emergency in round 13 after a strong run of form at VFL level. He would have to wait another three weeks before earning an AFL debut, elevated to the club's primary list in place of the long term injury listed Alex Rance and playing his first match in the club's round 16 match against at Metricon Stadium. Eggmolesse-Smith collected 19 disposals and four rebound-50s on debut, holding his spot for round 17's match against. He was one of five Indigenous players for Richmond in that match, a new club record. After two matches at AFL level, Eggmolesse-Smith was dropped back to VFL level in late July where he immediately starred with 26 disposals and nine marks at half-back. He remained at the lower level through the end of the VFL team's minor-premiership winning home and away season, though missed most of one match with a corked buttock sustained mid-match. In a come-from-behind qualifying final win over the reserves, Eggmolesse-Smith notched 20 disposals, before adding another 17 in the VFL preliminary final a fortnight later as Richmond's reserves won through to that league's grand final. In the VFL grand final, Eggmolesse-Smith was named by AFL Media as one of Richmond's best players, notching 20 disposals as his side defeated to earn the club won its first reserves grade premiership since 1997.Eggmolesse-Smith finished 2019 having played two matches at AFL level, as well as a further 19 with the club's VFL premiership winning reserves side.
2020 season
After a full pre-season of training, Eggmolesse-Smith first played in 2020 with the club's reserves side in VFL practice matches in March. The season was postponed before its opening round however, owing to safety concerns as a result of the rapid progression of the coronavirus pandemic into Australia. The AFL season began in late March without Eggmolesse-Smith able to earn selection, before it too was postponed due to the pandemic after just one round was played. After an 11-week hiatus, Eggmolesse-Smith returned to competitive match play in an unofficial scratch match against Collingwood's reserves on the same week as the AFL's round 2 matchup between the two clubs, arranged in place of the now cancelled VFL season. Following a further three scratch matches at reserves level, he was recalled to AFL level for round 6's match against Sydney in place of Bachar Houli, who had elected not to travel with the team after a virus outbreak in Melbourne forced it to be relocated to the Gold Coast. As with all matches in the reduced 17-round season that year, it was held with playing time reduced by one fifth, owing to the need for clubs to play multiple games on short breaks later in the year. A week later he produced a standout best-on-ground performance, winning a match-high eight Coaches Association award votes for a stat sheet that included 471 metres gained and a team-high 23 disposals in the win over North Melbourne on the Gold Coast.Player profile
Eggmolesse-Smith plats as a rebounding half-back. He is a natural left-foot kicker and is notable for his creative and penetrating ball-use by foot.Statistics
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2018! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2019
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2020
! colspan=3| Career
! 4
! 0
! 0
! 41
! 26
! 68
! 11
! 10
! 0.0
! 0.0
! 10.3
! 6.8
! 17.0
! 2.8
! 2.5