Richmond's coaching staff for the 2025 AFL season has been confirmed.

SENIOR COACH: ADEM YZE

Adem Yze enters his second season as Richmond coach after a challenging 2024 campaign.

The former Hawthorn and Melbourne assistant, who played 271 games for the Demons, dealt with injuries to key players which ravaged his debut campaign basically before it had commenced. 

Yze oversaw just two victories in 2024, but one of those was over eventual Grand Finalists the Sydney Swans who were the form team of the competition at the time. While the Tigers would eventually pick up their first wooden spoon since 2007, there remains a lot of positivity at Punt Road in the wake of the first-year coach’s baptism of fire. 

Yze has been handed the task of rebuilding the Tigers on the back of their successful three-premiership era under Damien Hardwick. However, he is now stocked with six new first-round draft picks to build around, which promises a bright future for the yellow and black.

ASSISTANT COACH: BEN RUTTEN

Rutten is in the second year of his second stint at Richmond, having initially joined the Tigers in 2015 before playing a key role in the club’s 2017 premiership as defensive line coach. The 2005 All-Australian defender with the Adelaide Crows then spent four years at Essendon, serving as senior coach in 2021-22. He returned to Punt Rd ahead of the 2023 season and was one of Adem Yze’s key lieutenants in 2024.

ASSISTANT COACH/MIDFIELD COACH: BLAKE CARACELLA

After spending three seasons with the Tigers, which coincided with the club’s 2017 and 2019 premierships, Caracella returned to Punt Road late last year. The Essendon and Brisbane premiership player, who also played for Collingwood, was VFL coach at the Bombers in 2024 having returned to Windy Hill in 2020. Before his initial stint with the Tigers he spent three years as an assistant coach with the Magpies and was at Geelong prior to that.

ASSISTANT COACH/BACKLINE COACH: STEVE MORRIS

The tenacious 87-game Tiger has been crafting his coaching CV across the last few seasons. After three years at the helm of the Richmond’s VFL setup, Morris was promoted to the club’s AFL coaching panel late last year. Morris captained Richmond’s VFL team to the 2019 premiership.

ASSISTANT COACH/FORWARDS COACH: CHRIS NEWMAN

Newman returned to Tigerland prior to the 2024 season having spent eight years at Hawthorn where he undertook various coaching roles. The former Tigers skipper reunited with fellow former Hawks assistant Adem Yze at Punt Rd, taking a key assistant role under his old colleague (and former opponent). Newman played 268 games for the Tigers between 2002 and 2015, captaining the club from 2009 to 2012.

HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT: SAM LONERGAN

Lonergan played 79 games for Essendon and two for Richmond over an eight-year AFL career. He then turned to coaching as a playing assistant at SANFL club Glenelg (2014-15), before becoming head coach at both TFL side Launceston (2017-18). A return to the SANFL with Woodville-West Torrens (2019) preceded his move back to the Tigers where he has spent the last five years in development roles.

DEVELOPMENT COACH: JACK ZIEBELL

The former North Melbourne captain joined Richmond’s coaching ranks in late 2023, immediately after he called time on his glittering playing career. Ziebell, who played 280 games for the Kangaroos, is cutting his teeth in a new-look coaching panel at Punt Road. He served under Adem Yze and alongside the likes of Chris Newman and Ben Rutten in 2024 and will continue in his role as assistant coach in 2025.

VFL COACH: JAKE BATCHELOR: CLICK HERE TO READ