In the lead-up to inspirational Richmond captain and triple premiership ruckman Toby Nankervis reaching the 150-game milestone with the Club, Tiger great Matthew Richardson paid a special tribute to him on this week’s episode of the Talking Tigers podcast.
Nankervis will reach the milestone when Richmond faces Fremantle in Gather Round on Sunday.
The three-time premiership ruckman was traded to Richmond in October of 2016 and has since been one of the Club's leading figures both on and off the field.
“As a ruckman, he’s everything you would want,” Richardson said.
“I love the ruckmen that get up in the air, and ‘Nank’ is good with his tapwork, but he’s also a ruckman that can get after it at ground level. I think that is so imperative.
“If you look at the good ruckmen around the comp, they’re good in the air, they can get their hand on it, but then they give you something at ground level.
“I don’t think you can be one dimensional now as a ruckman, and Nank isn’t.
“He’s got all of the tools that you need. His ruck craft is good, he’s a bulldozer at ground level, he nails his tackles. He loves tackling, which sets a great example for everyone else.
“The other thing you love about him, you know what you’re going to get every single week, which is 100 percent commitment every time he runs out there…no doubt about that.
“Whether the chips are down, or whether you’re flying and winning – five, six, seven, eight games in-a-row – you know you’re getting a consistent performance out of Nank. The coach would love that.
“He gets good (statistical) numbers for a ruckman, he can accumulate, he can mark the ball forward, but then, he can go back and take marks. How many times have we seen Nank take a crucial mark 25 metres out, dead in front of the opposition goal, when you need him to!”
The 30-year-old from George Town, Tasmania, took over as captain in 2022 alongside three-time premiership player and lockdown defender Dylan Grimes.
After 12 years as an AFL footballer, Nankervis continues to take his game to new levels, with his averages across the first four games at a career high.
Now in his fourth year as skipper, Nankervis leads one of the youngest lists in the AFL.
“His teammates love him and he has just been a great leader for our footy club,” Richardson said.
“He’s humble with no ego. He’s had to start speaking more in the media because he’s captain and he’s doing it very well. He never wanted to in the past because he doesn’t want to talk about himself, he just wants to get his job done.
“He’s a great leader for our footy club and we’ve been very, very lucky to get him. What a pick-up he’s been – a bargain pick-up. So, we salute the big fella on Sunday.”
