ON THE bench, Richmond great Matthew Richardson couldn't hold back tears as he watched his beloved Tigers win their first premiership in 37 years last Saturday.
Moments later he was presenting the premiership cup to Damien Hardwick, the man who began as coach the year after he retired, and Trent Cotchin, who debuted alongside Richardson way back in 2008.
Tiger time had arrived.
The joke was now on everyone else.
And the old faithful were there to celebrate Richmond's first premiership since 1980.
But Richardson could only find words, as usual, that reflected his humility.
"[The flag] means everything if you're a Richmond man," Richardson told AFL.com.au.
"We're going to start talking about this team now. You couldn't be more proud of these guys. I know how hard these guys have worked and I am so happy for them."
CEO Brendon Gale who endured so many years without success alongside 'Richo' had been crying inside all week at the thought of a Tiger flag.
Now he stood in a corner and looked on with pride.
The plan he had when he took charge late in 2009 to lead the club out of the wilderness had come to fruition.
At that point he told the group he could not imagine them going another 20 years without success. And he held his nerve when many around him were losing theirs.
"There have been a lot of wonderful people who served this club over the past 37 years who have never enjoyed the spoils of premiership success through no fault of their own," Gale told AFL.com.au.
The club, he said, had chosen 'Richo' to present the premiership cup as he embodied everyone who had served Richmond in that time.
The fact things hadn't gone their way wasn't his fault.
Gale thought of old Tigers like Scott Turner and the club's popular physio Ian Macindoe who has endured illness in recent times without complaining.
He loved the thought of the joy this would bring to those people.
Turner stood chatting with club legend 'Saint' Francis Bourke in the corner of the rooms.
"I can't believe it still," Turner told AFL.com.au.
"It's a dream come true."
Bourke, as usual, was the surprise packet, his Tigerish charm never far away.
"I'm stoked, absolutely stoked," he said.
"Those boys played like there is no tomorrow."
On a mobile phone in the members, former premiership player Barry Richardson received a photo from his son Daniel, the football manager who helped build the modern team and took them from a laughing stock to a flag.
The image showed Dan Richardson beaming as he stood proudly next to young Daniel Rioli who kept his back to the camera to display the No.17 that Barry had worn in three flags with the Tigers.
Within two minutes of the Grand Final remaining, Rex Hunt had sought out Tom Hafey's wife, Maureen, to tell her the Tigers were playing with the spirit of her late husband Tommy who coached the club to four flags.
Tom had died in 2014 but he would have loved the way Richmond played, getting the ball forward by hook or by crook and fighting like hell.
One of Hafey's charges, Neil Balme, was sitting inside the coaches' box, on the edge of his seat wishing for the win, hoping.
Balme had agreed with Hunt when his former teammate mentioned Hafey's spirit as he charged into the Tiger's rooms.
But then Balme gathered himself, the smile wider than his girth.
"It's this group's time. It's now but the now is pretty bloody powerful. The Tiger Army is amazing … we've done the right thing by them and let's see if we can keep doing it," Balme said.
