Richmond aren’t pretending they’re one player away. They know exactly where they sit. The kids are still kids. The window isn’t open yet. But what they are quietly setting up is the next phase.
And it starts at Punt Road.
Adem Yze has made it clear the redevelopment of Richmond’s home base is more than bricks and turf. It’s about positioning the Tigers as a destination club again. Not just historically. Not just emotionally. Practically.
The new redevelopment is set to be finished mid-2027, with the oval reshaped to mirror the MCG and a world-class facility sitting only a few hundred metres from the biggest stadium in the country. In the meantime, Richmond will temporarily relocate through a pre-season to allow construction to begin.
Right now, their intraclubs are 16 v 16 because the oval isn’t full size. Soon it’ll be MCG dimensions. Same sight lines. Same feel. Same preparation every week.
Yze isn’t shy about how much that matters.
He’s talked about how players walk from Punt Road to the MCG with supporters lining the way. How other clubs would kill to be in that precinct. How in college football in the US, teams build theatre into their stadium entrances. Richmond doesn’t need theatre. They just step outside and the Colosseum is sitting there.
That’s the pitch.
On-field, Richmond have already started their rebuild properly. Eight picks in the 2024 draft, including key position prospects Jonty Faull, Harry Armstrong, Luke Trainor and Tom Sims. This year they added speed and run to complement the talls.
They’ve got money in the cap. They’ve got a relatively clean list. They’ve got patience.
What they don’t have yet is 50 games into those kids.
Yze knows that. The club knows that. The focus right now is fast-tracking development. But with Tasmania entering the competition soon and armed with a reported $5 million signing bonus pool to lure talent, clubs are already thinking ahead.
Richmond are one of them.
They enquired about Harley Reid last year. They still hold their full suite of draft picks. They have room to move if they choose to.
Yze has been open about it. The club will assess how competitive they are this season. If they feel closer than expected, they won’t hesitate to look at free agents. If it’s too early, they’ll stay patient. It won’t be an emotional decision. It’ll be strategic.
They’re also aware certain positions may need reinforcement long-term, including the ruck. Nothing is being ruled out.
What the redevelopment does is strengthen their hand.
Free agency isn’t just about money. It’s about lifestyle. It’s about facilities. It’s about walking from your training ground to the MCG on game day. It’s about finishing a match and being back in your own rooms minutes later celebrating with family.
For players like Tom Lynch and Dion Prestia, that mattered when they signed. Richmond are banking on it mattering again.
The Tigers aren’t throwing cash around yet. But they’ve positioned themselves so that when the time comes to pull the trigger, they can.
Right now it’s a rebuild.
By 2027, it might look a lot more like a recruitment offensive.
And when that oval is finished, MCG-sized, sitting in the shadow of the real thing, Richmond won’t just be selling premiership history.
They’ll be selling the best postcode in football.
