Mellor, who played 198 games for West Adelaide in a decorated career, captained the Bloods (as they are known) and, in recent years, has been their under 18s coach, is the latest in a very long line of exchanges between the two clubs.
It stems all the way back to the Second World War when a gun centreman by the name of Jack Broadstock left West Adelaide to join Richmond, while doing his Army service in Victoria.
Broadstock would play only 33 games for the Tigers, but his impact was immense. He was one of the team’s best in the thrilling 1943 Grand Final win against Essendon and the ‘Immortal’ Jack Dyer described him as “the most talented footballer I have ever seen”.
A few years later, Broadstock returned to West Adelaide, taking over as the club’s captain-coach in 1950.
Another member of Richmond’s 1943 premiership side also went on to play a prominent role at West Adelaide . . .
Laurie Cahill, the uncle of SA football legend, John, had played in two premiership sides with SANFL club South Adelaide. He received an R.A.A.F. posting to Melbourne during the Second World War, and ended up playing for the Tigers.
Although he managed just seven appearances with the Club in 1943, one of those was the premiership triumph over Essendon. An accomplished wingman in the SANFL competition, Cahill was used as a forward pocket/rover on Grand Final day ’43.
A decade on, back in his native SA, Cahill took the reins as coach of West Adelaide. He coached the Bloods from 1953-56, guiding them into a couple of grand finals, which they lost.
Two decades later, a clever half-forward from West Adelaide arrived at Punt Road to try his luck breaking into the powerful Richmond side.
Glynn Hewitt had won West Adelaide’s leading goalkicker award in 1972, with 62 goals, and was rated one of the most dangerous forwards in the SANFL.
Unfortunately for Hewitt, he found it mighty tough to cement a place in the star-studded Tiger team, managing just 15 senior appearances in his two-year career at Punt Road (1973-74), although he was a member of the Club’s ’73 reserves premiership side.
These days, Glynn Hewitt is better known as father of Australian tennis star Lleyton Hewitt.
A stocky ruck-rover from Swan Hill was the next to strengthen the Richmond-West Adelaide link . . .
Ian Borchard was a courageous, creative on-baller, who won Richmond’s reserves Best and Fairest in 1976, was runner-up in 1977 and a member of the Tiger ‘twos’ ’77 premiership side.
He played just five senior games with the Tigers in the 1976 and 1978 seasons, before joining West Adelaide in 1979.
Borchard went on to become a superb leader for the Bloods, playing 145 games from 1979-86, captaining them for five seasons and winning two Best and Fairests. He was captain of West Adelaide’s last premiership side in 1983, was voted best-on-ground in that grand final triumph, and later coached West Adelaide for two years (2001-02).
Another Tiger, who subsequently had his name carved on West Adelaide’s coaching honour board, was Kevin Morris, who played 111 games in the Yellow and Black from 1971-76.
Morris, a member of Richmond’s back-to-back premiership sides of 1973-74, coached West Adelaide for four years, from 1988-91, guiding the Bloods into the grand final in his last season at the helm.
The Morris connection with both Richmond and West Adelaide continues through Kevin’s son, Steven, who is now at Tigerland following a four-season stint with the Bloods, which culminated with him winning their Best and Fairest award this year.
Steven Morris’ coach at West Adelaide was Andy Collins, the triple Hawthorn premiership player, who coached Richmond’s VFL affiliate, Coburg, in 2006-07.
Also currently playing with the Bloods, under Collins’ coaching guidance, is full-back Jarrod Silvester, who played five games for Richmond in 2009.
Brad Helbig, Richmond’s third pick (No. 47 overall) in the 2010 National Draft, was coached at West Adelaide, initially at under-18s level by Greg Mellor, before moving into the senior ranks, where Collins was in charge.
Another current-day Tiger, who also spent time at West Adelaide, was Shane Tuck, who finished top 10 in the SANFL competition’s Magarey Medal, in his one season with the Bloods, in 2003.
Anthony Banik, taken by the Tigers as the No. 1 selection overall in the 1989 National Draft, left Punt Road after a frustrating five-season, 49-game career, and crossed to West Adelaide. He became a star with Westies, playing 100 games and winning two Best and Fairests (1995 & 1997).
Ben Hollands had an eight-game career at Tigerland, but produced something significantly more substantial at West Adelaide, playing 102 games and winning the club’s Best and Fairest in 2001.
Ben Haynes, who managed just five games for Richmond from 2000-01, hit his straps when he landed at West Adelaide, winning its Best and Fairest, as well as leading goalkicker award, both in the 2006 season.
Marc Dragicevic followed that same path from Richmond to West Adelaide after an injury-ravaged 48-game career with the Tigers. ‘Dragga’ played 60 games with the Bloods in four seasons, finishing runner-up in their Best and Fairest three years in-a-row (2005-07).
Ben Marsh, a premiership ruckman with the Adelaide Crows, had a brief stint at Richmond (seven games in 2004), before returning home to SA to his original club, West Adelaide.
And, four other big men, who were on Richmond’s senior playing list, but never cracked it for a game at the highest level - David Gurney (a 1971 reserves premiership player with the Tigers), Ed Richardson, Pat Steinfort and Kyle Archibald - all went on to play for West Adelaide.
Finally, if you think all those links aren’t enough, consider this . . . West Adelaide’s home ground in SA is located in the Adelaide suburb of Richmond. Until recently (when a commercial arrangement was reached), the ground was known as Richmond Oval.
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