In a special summer series, Richmond Media is counting down the top 25 Tiger recruits from rival AFL clubs throughout the past five decades. At No. 2 is Bachar Houli.
Bachar Houli joined Richmond in late 2010 via the AFL’s pre-season draft following a frustrating four-year stint at Essendon, where he managed only 26 senior appearances.
The dashing defender grabbed the opportunity offered to him by the Tigers and went on to be a pivotal member of the team over the course of the next decade.
He played such a crucial role in Richmond’s line-up with his elite running ability, rebounding, and spearing, long left-foot kicks.
Runner-up to teammate Dustin Martin in two Norm Smith Medals – 2017 and 2019 – highlights the major impact he had in the Tigers’ success on the game’s biggest stage.
In the 2017 premiership-decider against Adelaide, Houli finished with 25 disposals, 11 marks, four rebound-50s, three inside-50s, five tackles, one goal, four score involvements, seven intercepts and 694 metres gained.
Two years later, in Richmond’s massive Grand Final victory over Greater Western Sydney, Houli had 28 disposals, seven marks, six rebound-50s. six score involvements, nine intercepts, six tackles and 317 metres gained.
Houli also fought valiantly throughout the 2020 Grand Final against Geelong to complete the game, despite sustaining a significant calf injury early in the match. It was particularly important for Houli to stay out on the field given the fact fellow Tiger defender Nick Vlastuin had been subbed out of the match early in the first quarter with concussion.
The consistency of performance produced by Houli across his 206-game at Tigerland is underlined by the seven top-10 finishes he managed in the Jack Dyer Medal.
Houli’s best season with Richmond was in the 2019 premiership year, when he gained All-Australian selection for the first time.
That season, he averaged 27.8 disposals and 5.0 rebound-50s per game.
Richmond great Matthew Richardson was a big fan of the way Houli went about his role in the Tigers’ defence.
“Out on the ground, what you need, and you always have needed from half-back, is some creativity and some hard, offensive run. He provided that during his career with the Tigers,” Richardson said.
“And the way he performed in big games was just incredible. In two of the Grand Finals (2017 and 2019), he may well have been a Norm Smith Medallist.
“He was an unbelievable pick-up for the Club with his ability to turn up each week and provide that smart run . . .
“There’s a lot of talk about courage in the game . . . you’ve got to put your head in the hole, and you’ve got to go back with the flight of the ball. You’ve got to do all of those hard, tough things.
“You know what takes just as much courage? To run as hard as Bachar Houli ran for 206 games off the half-back flank.
“It takes courage to gut run, not just courage to put your head in the hole.
“Bachar did that as well as anyone in his time at Richmond.”
