Dear Members and Supporters,

They say the darkest hour is before dawn and that is how I reflect on season 2024.

It was an incredibly difficult season for our men’s team. Despite being competitive for large chunks of many games during the year, the bottom line is that we only won two of them.

While we understand the challenges we faced, nobody accepts those results, and we collectively understand the hard work that lies ahead.

And nobody is more committed to meeting that challenge than our coaching staff, led by Adem Yze, and our playing group. Rarely has a first-year coach dealt with so much adversity but his commitment to the players and building the foundations for future success never wavered.

I have no doubt we will all look back on the experiences of this season and acknowledge it ultimately drove us forward. And there is real reason for optimism.

Injuries ensured our younger players were exposed to the demands of AFL football in 2024, and they will be better for that experience. It will drive them during the upcoming pre-season.

Some senior players moved on during the trade and free agency period but that has given us unprecedented access to a deep draft.  That is incredibly exciting and will inject great energy into the Club and our supporter base.

We also made changes to our football structure. Blake Caracella has rejoined our senior coaching panel. Steve Morris has been promoted to assistant coach and former Richmond player Jake Batchelor joins us as our VFL coach. We have also appointed Ben Serpell as the Club’s new high-performance manager.

In combination, the difficulties of 2024 have given rise to change that should have us all looking forward to what lies ahead. There is undoubtedly much work to be done but we will fight the fight together – that is the strength of our Club.

As always, our magnificent membership base has embraced the team. We finished the season with 98,371 members and while it was the first time in six-years we haven’t broken the 100,000-member barrier, it is still a measure of the brilliant support we have and the strong foundations this Club is built upon. It would be wonderful if we can again push through the 100,000 members in 2025.

Congratulations to our 2024 Jack Dyer Medalist Daneil Rioli. Daniel had a terrific season, and while we are disappointed to lose him, there is no denying the magnificent contribution he made to our Club, and our three recent Premierships.

I would also like to acknowledge Jack Graham, Liam Baker and Shai Bolton. They sought to leave the Club for various reasons which we understand. It is never easy losing high-quality players and people, but we wish all of them well and thank them for being an integral part of such a remarkable period of success for the Club.

We also thank retirees Dustin Martin, Dylan Grimes, Marlion Pickett and Sam Naismith for their contribution to the Club. I think we have all run out of superlatives to describe Dustin – his contribution was simply enormous, and he will be remembered as one of the best to ever pull on a Richmond jumper. His 300-game celebration was simply unforgettable. Dylan can look back on his 234-game career with enormous pride. A key part of three Premierships and a former captain, he got every inch out of himself as a player and a leader. Marlion and Sam’s stories are both a tribute to resilience for very different reasons. They should all be incredibly proud and they will always be Richmond men.

I would also like to acknowledge Matthew Coulthard and Noah Cumberland who finished with the Club at the end of the season. We thank them for their efforts and wish them well for the future. We also thank David Teague and Luke Meehan for their contributions over a number of years.

Sadly, I want to acknowledge the passing of our national recruiting manager Chris Toce. Chris had a big impact on our Club in a short period of time, and we were devastated to learn of his passing. Our heartfelt condolences are extended to his wife Mel, children Harry and Sophia and his extended family and friends. The Club will always be there to support you.

Our AFLW season promised much but ultimately ended in disappointment, losing an elimination final to Port Adelaide. After starting the season so strongly, it is a finish that really stings and that will be the starting point when our women start building for the 2025 season. Thanks to our coach Ryan Ferguson and captain Katie Brennan for their leadership this season. We will learn, evolve and go again.

Congratulations to Monique Conti and Eilish Sheerin on their standout contributions this year, which has earned them a nomination in the AFLW’s All Australian squad. Monique, who is still only 24, is in line for an incredible sixth All-Australian, while Eilish is a chance to be selected for a third time in three seasons.

While on AFLW, I wanted to commend all the work that went into the inaugural Dreamtime in Darwin match. It was a brilliant game of football, and celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.

Thank you to our Korin Gamadji staff who played a key role in driving the cultural engagement for the Club in the Northern Territory. It was a great opportunity for us all to build a greater sense of understanding and appreciation.  

Congratulations to our Victorian Wheelchair Football League (VWFL) team, which won this year’s premiership. Led by coach Matt Morris and captain Teisha Shadwell, our Tigers defeated Collingwood by 23 points in the Grand Final, with James Weinert awarded best on ground.

Matt also coached our 2019 and 2022 premiership teams and has made a terrific contribution to our Club since our inaugural season in 2018. Matt will step back from the role in 2025, but as a three-time premiership coach, he should be immensely proud of his efforts.

Congratulations to everyone involved in our Wheelchair Program, including Chris Henderson, who after a decorated six-year stint with the Club has departed for Essendon. Thank you for everything and good luck, Chris.

Significant change has also occurred off-field, with Shane Dunne being appointed the Club’s new CEO following Brendon Gale's departure. Shane is well known to many. He is a highly valued executive who has demonstrated strong, values-driven leadership, and he will do an excellent job.

The Club reported a modest operating surplus and Tina De Young, the chair of our finance, audit and investment committee, has provided more detail in her report to members.

It is a solid result given our on-field performance impacted crowds and our final membership number. Prevailing economic conditions are also clearly having an impact. As always, if you can do one thing for your Club and you have the capacity, please purchase a membership.

The redevelopment of Punt Road Oval remains the highest strategic priority of the Board. Our non-football staff will relocate to 100 Wellington Parade in early December, clearing the way for work to commence.

We are conscious of minimizing the disruption to our AFL and AFLW programs once work commences and to alleviate that we will construct portable facilities in Yarra Park for the duration of the redevelopment. We thank the MCC for enabling this outcome.

The Board recently decided to re-tender the redevelopment to drive the most competitive cost outcome, and we expect to have that process completed before the end of the year.

As we all know, the redevelopment is an incredibly exciting undertaking for this Club. It is the largest infrastructure upgrade in the Club’s history, and I sincerely thank everyone that has contributed to our fundraising efforts – each of your contributions enables us to get this critical project started.

The Club continues to contribute significantly to the broader community. The Korin Gamadji Institute and the Bachar Houli Foundation continue to grow and empower youth to shape their own futures.

Our supporters can also be proud of the contribution the Club makes to our preferred charity partner, the Alannah and Madeline Foundation (AMF). The AMF does incredibly important work supporting children, and we have now raised more than $2 million since the partnership commenced in 2012.

Appreciation

Thank you to our Joint-Major Partners across our AFL men’s program (nib and Latitude) and AFLW programs (nib and AG Coombs) who continue to provide such tremendous support and care for our programs. Our partnerships continue to evolve and deepen, illustrated recently with nib expanding into our Wheelchair Football team and AG Coombs enabling the inaugural AFLW Dreamtime game in Darwin, as well as extending their long-term support of the Korin Gamadji.

We extended several partnerships throughout the year, but I wanted to acknowledge Swinburne University of Technology, our naming rights and education partner, who renewed for a further four years taking us through to more than a decade together.

Our partners continue to support our football programs, across men’s and women’s, but importantly they have alignment with many of our social impact activities throughout the year, enriching the work of the Club throughout our community.  Thanks to the team at KFC, Puma, Hostplus, National Storage, Milwaukee, Motorola, Bailey Brewing, Comwire IT, Fulton Hogan, Johnson Earthmoving, JR Group, Love The Game, Crypto.com and Jim Beam as well as our official suppliers.

Thank you to our community partners including Midsumma, SisterWorks, First People's Health and Wellbeing, Kinaway Chamber of Commerce, Ngali, Wukalina Walk, and the National Indigenous Australians Agency. These partnerships continue to underpin and guide our important community work.

Our coteries continue to show enormous support, and I’d like to acknowledge members of Jack's Club, Legends Club, Richmond Executive, Club XIII and 3121. I would also like to welcome our inaugural AFLW Coteries and Coaches Corner members. Further to this, I pass on my appreciation to each of our donors including those who have contributed towards the redevelopment which is so important to our future.

The Cheer Squad and our supporter groups including the Tommy Hafey Club, Former Players and Officials and Club 80 continue to drive the Tiger Army. Your passion and commitment from all around the country is simply wonderful.

Thank you to our CEO and administration for their commitment during what was a trying year for the Club.

And finally, thank you to my fellow directors, for your contribution. We are very fortunate to have a united, highly skilled Board. At a time when directors’ responsibilities generally grow ever more onerous, and our Club leans into a period of significant change, your commitment on an honorary basis is much appreciated.

Again, thank you for all your support. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday season and I look forward to seeing you at the football in 2025.

John O’Rourke