Richmond currently has a combined total of five players and coaches, who played for West Adelaide at one stage during their football careers - Steven Morris, Shane Tuck, Brad Helbig, Greg Mellor and Mark “Choco” Williams.
Morris, whose father Kevin also coached West Adelaide, spent four seasons with the SA Bloods, winning their best and fairest in 2011, just before joining Richmond.
Tuck had one season at West Adelaide, in 2003, finishing top 10 in the SANFL competition’s Magarey Medal that year.
Helbig spent two years in West Adelaide’s centre of excellence and worked his way into senior ranks with the Bloods, before being drafted by the Tigers.
Mellor, who moved into a key player development role at Richmond in November last year, played 198 games for West Adelaide in a decorated career from 1990-2002, captained the club, and later coached its under-18s team.
Williams, who recently joined Richmond as development coach, is best known for his fine on-field exploits with Port Adelaide in the SANFL, but he actually started his senior SA football career at West Adelaide. He played 64 games and kicked 37 goals for the Bloods from 1976-78.
And, the man that’s guided West Adelaide into its first grand final since 2003, for a shot at its first premiership since 1983, is triple Hawthorn premiership player, Andy Collins, who coached Richmond’s VFL affiliate, Coburg, in 2006-07.
