Dylan Grimes’ elevation to the captaincy role at Richmond places him up there with Club ‘Immortal’ Francis Bourke as the most decorated defender in Tigerland history.
Grimes has a super-impressive football CV – three premiership medals, (2017, 2019, 2020) a Jack Dyer Medal (2021), All-Australian blazer (2019), and now adds to that the honour of being the Club’s co-captain.
Bourke is a five-time Richmond premiership player (1967, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1980), but two of those were as a wingman in the early phase of his league football career (‘67 and ‘69).
He was the Tigers’ captain for two seasons (1976-77) and also a Jack Dyer Medallist (1970).
St Francis, as he’s affectionately known, is a revered figure at Punt Road . . . Richmond royalty, in fact. For Grimes to be rated alongside him, in terms of what he’s achieved throughout his playing career across the Tigers’ backline, is a huge compliment.
Grimes also ranks highly among the best-ever AFL pre-season draft selections.
Overlooked in the 2009 national draft, the then 18-year-old was taken by Richmond with pick two overall in the 2010 pre-season draft.
The now 30-year-old veteran of 192 games for the Tigers can rightly be compared with other top-class AFL pre-season draft picks in Eddie Betts, Simon Goodwin and Tyson Edwards.
