Tom Lynch now belongs to an extremely exclusive group of players in Richmond’s AFL/VFL history.
The star key forward joins Dan Minogue, Ian Stewart and David Thorpe as a Tigers premiership player after previously captaining another club in the competition.
Lynch, Gold Coast’s co-captain in 2017-18, moved to Richmond as a restricted free agent at the end of the 2018 season and went on to be a key member of the Tigers’ 2019 premiership side.
Dan Minogue was the first captain from a rival league club to become a premiership player at Tigerland.
Minogue captained Collingwood from 1914-16 and then served Australia with distinction in World War 1 before transferring to Richmond as captain-coach in 1920.
He led the Tigers to their first VFL premiership in that 1920 season, and followed up with further flag success the next year.
Half a century on, brilliant St Kilda centreman Ian Stewart, who had a one-season stint as the Saints’ skipper in 1969, crossed to Richmond in a sensational swap for two-time Tiger premiership star Bill Barrot.
Stewart had a huge, instant impact with Richmond in his 1971 debut season at the Club, winning a third Brownlow Medal, as well as the Jack Dyer Medal.
Two years later, Stewart played a significant role in the Tigers’ 1973 premiership triumph.
The following season, when Richmond made it back-to-back flags, former Footscray captain David Thorpe played a pivotal role for the Tigers as a classy centreman.
Thorpe was the Bulldogs’ captain in 1973.
