Current-day Richmond star Jack Riewoldt has paid a passionate tribute to Tiger ‘Immortal’ Tommy Hafey, who passed away yesterday (May 12), aged 82.

“I certainly met Tommy plenty of times.  He was often down the Club, and with his wife Maureen at a lot of functions as well,” Riewoldt said on ‘Gold-FM’.

“The first time I met Tommy was about three weeks into my (AFL) career . . .

“I went to a ‘Tiger Lilies’ dinner that Maureen Hafey had organised.  I walked in and I didn’t know anyone, but I remember Tommy coming up to me and introducing himself straight away, (with a) firm handshake. 

“He just really made me feel a part of the Tigers’ culture straight up.

“He was certainly a father figure to a lot of older (former) players.  I know Kevin Bartlett holds him in the highest regard, and there are a lot of other players who we’ve met through the football club – Francis Bourke, Dick Clay and those guys, who played under Tommy – that can’t speak any more highly of him.

“I’ve never heard a bad word said about Tommy Hafey, or his family for that matter.

“His fitness was obviously one thing that’s been spoken about . . . always going down to the beach, the swimming, the sit-ups, the push-ups, and stuff like that.  But I think the mental side of Tommy was something that was as strong as anything, really . . .

“A lot of people will relive stories about Tommy over the next week or two, and just really talk about the life of Tom Hafey.

“There are so many good things that happened and that he did through his time at the Richmond Football Club, the AFL, and other football clubs.

“So, a lot of people will get a lot of joy out of talking about the life of Tom Hafey, and it’s something that we should do.  We should talk about the joy that he brought us, and obviously the success that he brought our football club.

“He’s an ‘Immortal’ of our football club and, obviously, the football club and the wider community will respect him and do the right thing by his passing and his family.

“It’s really sad.  I tweeted yesterday that it’s probably one of the saddest days in the history of our football club.

“He’s right up there with the Jack Dyers, the Francis Bourkes, the guys that are on our honour boards at the football club.”