The Richmond Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Ryan Ferguson as the Club’s AFLW senior coach.

Ferguson, 39, is a qualified schoolteacher and level 3 accredited coach. He most recently held the role of development and backline coach within Richmond’s AFL and VFL programs.

The former Melbourne defender played 47 AFL games for the Demons across five seasons before joining West Adelaide in the SANFL, where he captained the club for five seasons and won three best and fairests.

Ferguson joined Richmond as a coach in 2015 and played an instrumental role in developing young players. He was involved in the 2017 and 2019 AFL premierships and the 2019 VFL triumph.

Ferguson told Richmond Media he was excited about joining the Women’s program and continuing the fantastic work that had gone on already in the Club’s AFLW journey.

“I am thrilled to accept this opportunity. I have taken a keen interest in this program over the years, so it is familiar to me and I am really excited to join the team,” he said.

“It is exciting to have the opportunity to coach this particular group and there are so many great people in the program already.”

Ferguson described himself as a coach heavily invested in creating a team environment and helping individuals to grow and get better.

“There’s a lot of fun that goes along with that, but also direction and high standards. We want to drive some really elite habits within the group.”

Ferguson’s wife, former winter Olympian Bree Munro, has worked closely with Richmond AFLW players in gymnastics, body awareness, stability, and injury prevention, which has helped the new coach have an early connection to the program.

“The girls have put in a power of work already and as a program, we look forward to helping them continue on the journey,” he said.

“There seems to be a lot of excitement around. The girls have been amazing with reaching out and messaging me to make me feel welcome and to show how excited they are and how hard they have been working over the pre-season.”

Richmond Head of Women’s Football, Kate Sheahan, said that the Club was excited to have Ferguson on board.

“Ryan has been watching the Women’s program from afar and always shown a keen interest in the growth and development of Women’s Football,” she said.

“He has fantastic relationships with the AFL program and its players and staff. We are excited about the connections to be built between the two programs moving forward.

“Our players will greatly benefit by having a coach of his caliber with a proven track record of developing players. We love his passion and energy and commitment to improvement and feel he is the perfect person to take this group forward.”

Ferguson will take his first training session next Monday night.