Richmond is setting its sights on having 85,000 members by the time the ball is bounced at 7.30pm on Thursday night, helping the Club on its way to achieving its vision of reaching 100,000 every year.

“There are already 82,000 people signed up for this year, so a huge thank you to all our members who continue to support us,” CEO Shane Dunne said.

“We would love to get to 85,000 by the time the ball is bounced on Thursday night, so if you have not renewed your membership please get on board.”

Dunne, buoyed with optimism after a strong pre-season, added that the entire Club was incredibly grateful to the members who had already renewed.

“We are so thankful for your continued support. It will be a great ride this year. Thanks for joining the journey with us,” he said.

“There is this great level of rejuvenation and excitement amongst the team. We have had a strong pre-season, and I think we are ready to go for round one.

“Our eight draftees have really fit in well at the Club.

“They are an incredible group as all our players are, but their level of professionalism and want to grow and learn and just establish themselves as elite footballers has been really refreshing to see.

“We love having them around the Club. Some of them you will see early on, and some will come through the VFL. That is all part of their journey to become elite long-term AFL footballers.

“Our focus is their longevity at this Club and setting them up to be successful and have successful AFL careers long into the future.”

Luke Trainor (12 disposals at 92% in limited game time v Collingwood), Sam Lalor (two goals v West Coast), Harry Armstrong and Tom Sims have been among the young Tigers to impress in trial matches, with Dunne taking positives on and off the field out of the most recent hit out at Ikon Park.

“Our (amount of) forward 50 entries were really good and our contested ball,” Dunne said.

“What we saw was a pretty hot game. Collingwood were obviously incredibly accurate, but I think there were really good signs from our boys. 

“It was a great turnout also for Foodbank for the second year, we have played in the Charity Shield.

“Foodbank is an incredible charity that does such great work supporting Victorian families and Australian families right around the country in their time of need by helping to put food on their plates. 

“I am delighted to say we are still counting the dollars that are coming in and there are auctions and so forth still going.

“We have been able to secure at least 100,000 meals for people in need, which is an incredible effort.

“Thank you to everyone who did turn up on the night at Ikon Park.”

Dunne also provided an update on the Punt Road Oval redevelopment which is due to commence imminently.

“The Punt Road redevelopment is a significant project we continue to work on,” he said.
 
“We are really close to appointing a builder, so we are working through that process at the moment. But it is going to take a lot still to get this done and there is still a funding shortfall. 

“We are hugely thankful to our funding partners, particularly the Federal and State Governments and the many in the Tiger Army who have contributed to this redevelopment.

“There is still a way to go, and we are going to continue to fundraise as we progress the project, but it's getting ever so close now and it is a really exciting phase for us, and I can't wait to see the building come out of the ground.”

Dunne added that the Club was pleased to see strong numbers on the track at voluntary AFLW sessions, as Richmond’s AFLW team progressed towards the 2025 season.

“Our talented women have been coming through and led by Ryan Ferguson and the coaching panel, they are starting to put them through their paces, which is fantastic,” Dunne said.