Tassie, Sydney, Waverley? Tigers consider selling a game, renting home base

Artist's impression of the Jack Dyer Stand redevelopment. Picture: Richmond FC

RICHMOND’S second season under Adem Yze ended last weekend, but Tigers CEO Shane Dunne is preparing for an off-season focusing on key decisions that will shape 2026, including considering selling a home game, renting Waverley Park and the coach’s contract.

After winning only two games in 2024 amid a year of sweeping changes across the club ranging from the departures of Brendon Gale, Dustin Martin and a host of premiership players, Richmond won five games this year, following a historic draft haul last November.

This off-season is different. It won’t involve the list renovation we saw in 2024. The trade period isn’t expected to result in big name exits. The Tigers currently hold pick No. 2 and No. 3 but won’t end up with the six first-round picks they used last year.

The other difference is the literal renovation of the Swinburne Centre. The iconic Jack Dyer Stand was demolished earlier this month, with significant progress expected over the summer months.

Richmond's sizeable administration team is now based on level three of a building on Wellington Parade, less than a 10-minute walk up the road, which is where Dunne spoke to AFL.com.au this week about a wide range of focus areas for the club between now and round one next season.

Shane Dunne with (from left) Charley Ryan, Ally Dallaway and Jodie Hicks ahead of their AFLW debuts for Richmond in round one, 2024. Picture: AFL Photos

Tasmania reached out first to see if Richmond was interested in selling a game. Greater Western Sydney is pushing for the Tigers to host a home game against the Giants at the SCG, despite fierce pushback from the Swans. And Gold Coast CEO Mark Evans checked if Richmond would consider Darwin.

Richmond will only proceed if there is sufficient support from its members, the football department and if they can maintain 10 home games at the MCG and can facilitate a deal with another MCG tenant club to ensure members receive an 11-game package for the MCG.

“It came about originally from Tasmania. Stadiums Tas reached out and asked if we’d be interested. North Melbourne has left, so there is a void there; they need some content in Hobart over the next couple of years,” Dunne explained overlooking the MCG from Jolimont.

“We didn’t bat it away straight away. We said we are happy to listen and see what the offer is – we still haven’t received a formal offer – but we have explored it a little bit further.

“The overwhelming sentiment from our members is: if it replaces a Marvel game, do it. For whatever reason, our fans see Marvel as an away game. From a footy perspective, they don’t care, they’ll play anywhere. Our fans certainly see Marvel as an away game and the numbers show it: we average 50 per cent less crowd compared to the MCG.

Seth Campbell during the round six match between Richmond and Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium, April 19, 2025. Picture: Getty Images

“From our perspective, the MCG is our home. If we are about driving attendances, it makes no sense to fixture Richmond at Marvel. While they continue to do that, we will continue to explore Tasmania and New South Wales.

“Once the story got out, New South Wales rang, then Mark Evans had a cheeky chat about Darwin. There were other options, but the only two live options as they stand right now are Tasmania and New South Wales. There is certainly some interest from the Giants to do that to help grow the game and to be on a different stage. I think there is merit to both options from a league point of view.

“From our point of view, it has to be OK with our members. If we end up playing 10 games at the MCG as home games and one at an interstate venue and then can do a deal with another MCG club so our members get 11 games at the MCG as part of their membership, if we can make the right financial deal and if our football program are supportive of our decision then it will make sense to us. We’ve got to get all those three things right before we contemplate it.”

The Punt Road Oval redevelopment is the most significant infrastructure project in Richmond’s history and is forecast to be completed across two stages by the middle of 2027. Stage one will cost $85 million and includes the construction of the new Jack Dyer Stand, with a new three-level underground car park, while the oval will be realigned and reshaped to match the dimensions of the MCG.

The Tigers still need to secure another $25 million in funding to enable stage two of the redevelopment, which is why Richmond is contemplating selling a game interstate, despite its financial might and 92,380 members in 2025.

Artist's impression of the Jack Dyer Stand redevelopment. Picture: Richmond FC

“Stage two is not yet fully funded, so we need about $25 million to complete stage two, so it [selling games] certainly helps with that,” Dunne said.

“We are still strong and sound financially and still turning profits, but there is a big chunk of cash we need to spend in the next couple of years. Any little bit helps us get that completed as quickly as possible and there is no compromise.”

Dunne said the club explored moving further away to secure larger sites like Hawthorn has done with the Kennedy Community Centre in Dingley and Essendon at NEC Hangar in Tullamarine, but remaining in the heartland was the clear priority.

“We looked at that,” he said. “We could have gone and built out in a Dingley or a Tullamarine or wherever and we would have had bigger land, bigger facilities and multiple ovals, but we think Richmond is a really important competitive advantage for us. Our members and fans love it. We explored other options, but were adamant we had to keep Richmond in Richmond, but there are compromises with that: we have a smaller footprint, we only have one oval, but hopefully we can solve that oval issue down the track.

“We are in demolition phase, so we brought down the old Jack Dyer Stand, which was beyond its useful life. Because we are landlocked we were prohibited with what we could do with the ground. The only way to stay in Richmond was to demolish the stand, move back, so we could shift the oval so it is MCG size. For us to train the way we want to play, it had to go. We are building a new Jack Dyer Stand. The Dyer family are right across it and supportive of it.”

Artist's impression of the Jack Dyer Stand redevelopment. Picture: Richmond FC

Keeping the administration and the football department connected is vital to Dunne. Great clubs are united. Richmond achieved this under Gale’s stewardship and wants to maintain the connection despite being separated by Yarra Park for the next two years. The criteria for the office space included being within 10 minutes of the club. That was a non-negotiable for Dunne.

Match committee is held in the office on Wellington Parade to ensure coaches are in constant contact with admin staff. The whole club has a staff lunch at the Swinburne Centre once a week. Post-game functions at the Swinburne Centre were a feature of the Damien Hardwick era and remain central.

With the AFL purchasing Waverley Park off Hawthorn Football Club earlier this year, Richmond is seriously contemplating renting it off the League to move both football programs to train in Mulgrave from October 2026 onwards until the Swinburne Centre – which will maintain its naming rights once the redevelopment is complete – is ready.

“Waverley Park is a live option for us. With the AFL purchasing that now, we have certainly put a stake in the ground with that. We have multiple options, but that is certainly a live option,” Dunne said.

“We would move both programs, so the whole thing, for seven months. That way they are all at the one space, they don’t have to drive back for weights or anything else. Our absolute preference is to move the whole program for seven months. Both teams will have their off-seasons throughout that time, so it’s not the full seven months.

Learn More 19:12

“I suspect by the end of the year [we will make a decision] to give us time to make any alterations. There are a few options we are considering. Some other clubs did La Trobe Uni, but with Waverley it’s not too far down the road. It is an existing elite facility, so it does make sense.”

Richmond is also considering Gosch’s Paddock as a more permanent second oval down the track, regardless of if Melbourne secures a new base at Caulfield or not. The Tigers know they need a second oval in future, especially with the plan to host AFLW games at Punt Road Oval.

The Tigers quickly silenced the pre-season critics who questioned the club’s ability to win any games in 2025 by upsetting Carlton in round one. Dunne saw enough progress this year to be confident in the on-field direction.

“We didn’t really buy into the wins and losses,” he said. “There was a narrative around we wouldn’t a game, but pleasingly, we put that to bed in round one. So, while we are pleased with the growth, we are certainly not satisfied with the outcome because we are ultimately about winning.

"We have a plan and a path to ultimately win our next premiership. We know it’s not going to happen overnight, so we have to be realistic, but the most positive growth was the development from not just our first-year players but our second-to-fifth-year group that cemented their spots in the side.”

Yze’s contract expires at the end of 2026, but Dunne said the board will explore extending the 47-year-old for another year or two before the start of next season, although those discussions haven’t commenced yet.

Adem Yze during the round 23 match between North Melbourne and Richmond at Ninja Stadium, August 17, 2025. Picture: AFL Photos

“We will certainly contemplate that [an extension] this off-season, but that is just part of our annual review. We’ve seen good growth in Adem, as much as we have in the playing group,” he said.

“The important thing is we are seeing from Adem what we saw throughout the recruitment process. All those things we were checking and exploring throughout the recruitment process we are seeing come to fruition. That’s the thing for me. we tested exactly what we wanted from a coach and now we are seeing it.

“We will go through a really thorough feedback process with Adem, as we do every year. We bring in feedback and ideas from all different sources and give that to Adem. I’m sure we will contemplate the contract at that time or post that. We are seeing all the right signs from Adem. The players are engaged and can see the vision. That’s the most important part. It’s ultimately then what’s in the best interests of the club.”

Dunne marked 12 months in the role earlier this week, but he wasn’t new to Richmond Football Club when president John O’Rourke appointed the then CEO of Aligned Leisure, the Tigers’ fully-owned subsidiary business. The 44-year-old has now been at the club for 11 years in different roles, but is one of the youngest club bosses in the competition.

“I have loved the year,” he said. “I’ve got a deeper sense now of the people that are involved in this club and the broader people connected to the club and how much they actually support and drive the club. That’s where I think gets its power from, nearly 100,000 members again this year, which is incredible when you think about where we’re at from an on-field perspective. The care of the parents and families of the draftees is almost as much as anyone, which has been the pleasingly surprising thing of the year.

“The other thing is just the challenge of the role and our climb. There are challenges every day, which is what I wanted from (my) next role. Personally, I don’t think there is a better role in Australian sport than this role. This is a big passionate club with a strong base. I’m very, very lucky.”

Richmond assistant coach Steve Morris has decided to step back from coaching after arriving at Punt Road in 2012 as a player, before fulfilling roles as VFL captain, VFL coach, development coach and line coach. The Tigers are now in the market for another assistant – the rest are all contracted – adding another focus area for Richmond this off-season.

Click here to read article