Two of the AFL’s most accomplished figures in the modern era have shed light on what a new era at Richmond will look like short term, as it continues its transition through an inevitable rebuild.
Three-time Richmond premiership player Jack Riewoldt and four-time Hawthorn premiership player Jordan Lewis spoke on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Wednesday night, giving insight into how they can turn around its sump at quickly as possible in the bigger picture.
After calling Richmond’s brutal 91-point loss to the Western Bulldogs live last Saturday night, Riewoldt described the viewing as ‘painful’.
“As much as it (your career) finishes in the batter of an eyelid with your last game … you don’t lose the burn and fire within,” Riewoldt said.
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“It was really hard to sit here, watch the footy and make comment about people that are your best mates, and were only teammates eight months ago.
“I spoke to Trent (Cotchin) a bit about this actually; when you’ve been in a club for a really long time and all of a sudden they’re going nowhere near as well as they’d like to be going… you wish you could help, but also you have to go ‘hey, it’s someone else’s turn now’ – that’s probably that struggle inside myself.
“You want to help, but you’ve also just got to let go.”
The former Tiger, who played 347 games at the club across a 17-year span, was heavily backed by Lewis, who at the back end of his own career went through a transitional phase of sorts at his second club Melbourne.
Lewis won four premierships at the Haws between 2008 and 2015, before moving to the Demons at the end of the 2016 season for the final three years of his career.
“It’s tough… I think your purpose (as a senior player) needs to change, there’s no doubt about that, because you need to take great solace in the fact you’ve already been successful; you’ve got that in the bag,” said Lewis.
“Your purpose at this football club now becomes about the younger generation, who will be, hopefully, be your next premiership players.
“How can you possibly help (Adam Yze) with his coaching and buy-in, and setting up the Richmond Football Club for five to ten years.”
With the club future of a great like Dustin Martin and key player like Liam Baker in question, it can be hard to get a true grasp of what the future looks like for senior players in the side.
Baker has been heavily linked to Western Australia, while a guess on what Martin does with his future is as good as anyone’s – with either retirement or a change of scenery looking as likely as each other.
Martin will this weekend play game 297 of his career, with speculation continuing to grow over his future as his current contract expires at the end of this year.
When asked by AFL 360 panellist Mark Robinson about Martin’s future, Riewoldt said he had ‘no idea’, and instead looked forward to seeing him play his 300th game; paying tribute to a player who ‘had a massive impact on my career and life’.
As an external viewer, Jordan Lewis walked through the steps now for some senior players who may not be performing at their best in 2024.
“Dusty Martin, there’s still some experience in that side, Nathan Broad… your whole purpose right now becomes about the team and the organisation,” Lewis said.
“In my instance, it was about playing VFL – helping young kids play VFL, Roughy (Jarryd Roughead) played VFL and helping young kids; exposing other players.
“When you’ve been successful and you’re going through a decline – and they haven’t reached the bottom in that particular journey – it becomes about the club.”
While the likes of Martin and Baker certainly won’t be playing reserves anytime soon, there are eight other players over the age of 30; some of which could play a crucial role in developing young guns if done in the right spirit.
Marlion Pickett, Sam Naismith and Dion Prestia are examples of some of the players who could follow in the footsteps of an unlikely cult figure at the club.
“Your natural instinct when your back’s against the wall and might be out of contract; you want to turn in and look after yourself,” Riewoldt explained.
“Knowing Richmond, the best person I would look to is the player development manager Ivan Maric.”
“Maric came across from Adelaide (six) years prior… 2017, he played VFL the whole year – did not play one AFL game because Toby Nankervis had been traded in,”
Despite playing five years consistently upon his arrival to the club, Maric lost his place in Richmond’s starting 22 throughout 2016; and in the process a chance at a drought-breaking premiership medal.
Maric announced his retirement in June of 2017, and continues to play an important role within the four walls at Punt Road.
The Tigers have an opportunity to double their win tally this weekend, flying up to Brisbane for a Saturday night clash at the Gabba.
