Just hours after arriving home from a Richmond practice game in Perth last month, Kamdyn McIntosh was busy loading his trailer ahead of a big day on the tools.

While other teammates enjoyed a sleep in following a gruelling clash against West Coast, the Tigers veteran put his Australian Shepherd, Rosie, in the boot of his car and drove to the Blairgowrie property he has been renovating for months.

McIntosh has been managing his own construction business, K TRDs, for two years, and this Peninsula holiday home has been one of his favourite projects. It has gradually expanded from a simple door installation job into a wide-ranging series of improvements including a wraparound deck.

It’s not the most conventional recovery process after a bruising clash on the other side of the country in 30C-plus conditions, but McIntosh says the work has helped him get moving earlier in the week after games.

“I’m a bit sore for sure, but if I just sit on the couch and don’t do anything, I’ll seize up,” he says.

McIntosh, who turned 31 this week, thought he might be turning to his construction business full-time this year after being left in contract limbo for weeks at the end of 2024.

After a gruelling wooden-spoon campaign, the West Australian made a hard decision not to leave on holiday so he could signal to his clients he remained committed to their projects no matter what his football future held.

Two months after the Tigers’ season had ended, and after his close friends Liam Baker and Jack Graham departed west among a mass exodus, he was offered a one-year deal to extend his career into a 13th season.

Only 10 games shy of the 200-game milestone, the dual premiership wingman decided he would go around again to help shepherd an inexperienced side through another tough year to come.

THE TAFE TIGERS

Not all of them went on to be part of the breakthrough 2017 flag side, but at the start of his third season McIntosh joined a group which was instrumental to helping change Richmond’s culture.

He enrolled in a Certificate III in carpentry at TAFE along with more than a dozen Tigers including Jack Riewoldt, Toby Nankervis, Sam Lloyd and Taylor Hunt.

Ruckman Ivan Maric, who played with McIntosh at the start of his career and works at the club as a player development manager and ruck coach, says watching the eccentric group successfully advance through the course had been massive for morale at the club.

“There was a big group of them doing that TAFE course every week, and they all completed it, which is just great,” Maric says.

“Really good by them, and they all pushed each other through it.”

McIntosh was the heartbeat of that group, moving onto the next certificate before using the three-month Covid shutdown in 2020 to start a diploma in building and construction.

He also was, and still is, a key social driver for the club, organising camping trips for first-year players, a coastal getaway for the midfield group, or the annual team dinner he has made his own.

“Not just the last few years — his whole career, he’s always done it. He organises dinners or he’ll organise little activities, whether it’s smaller groups like the midfield group, or the first-years going away on a bit of a culture camp every year,” Maric says.

“He’s naturally a very caring guy, and that’s one of his strengths – bringing people together.”

A GROWING NETWORK

McIntosh speaks glowingly of his building mentor, John “Icon” Iacono, who showed him the construction industry was another place he could forge strong personal connections – something which gives him immense enjoyment.

In his first year at Richmond in 2013, he worked casual shifts at the Auburn Hotel after training sessions purely so he could meet new people from behind the bar.

Among the tradesmen he regularly works with is Carlos Castagna, father of his premiership teammate Jason, who runs Castagna Steel with his other sons.

“I’ve got about 30 or 40 guys that I work closely with … my plumber, Paul, he’s unbelievable, he’s been in the game for years,” McIntosh says.

“I’m so lucky I’ve been able to meet these sorts of people during my footy career, because they’re just such hard workers and good people. They’re unreal to work with on-site.

“My carpenter, Bailey, he comes from a local footy club and a strong team environment as well, which is what I’m big on.

“Culture, teamwork, punctuality, all that stuff I’ve learnt at Richmond, I’d like to bring to K TRDs. I don’t know if I’ll be fining blokes $50 for every minute they’re late to a meeting though. Might leave that one to the footy club.”

BALANCE OUTSIDE FOOTY

As Richmond began to struggle on the field in 2023-24 and his own form also oscillated, McIntosh found his business was an important refuge from football’s news cycle.

“It’s a massive escape for me from footy … when things aren’t going so well, you start to dwell on everything,” he says.

“My thoughts bloody go everywhere, they go crazy thinking about the game and everything else, so having this is a great chance to think about something else, and connect with other people.

He has encouraged teammates to find their own passion to explore outside the game, to ensure they have a starting point when football can no longer be their full-time job.

“I’m a pretty big believer in making sure you’ve got something outside of footy, and I reckon it does start as a hobby for a lot of people, and grows into your passion,” he says.

“Jason Castagna used to be a blank canvas, and then in the hub in 2020 he brought his tattoo gun up … it started as a hobby, and now he’s got his own tattoo shop (Phat Doodles) and that’s what he does now, the great man.”

CHANGE AT PUNT ROAD

He enjoyed locking horns with Liam Baker and Jack Graham when he faced West Coast in Perth, but McIntosh concedes losing two of his closest mates from the club has been difficult.

Both worked for him as labourers at times last year, but his books are open for any teammates who want to give it a try.

“I took on a job in Brighton, a renovation there, and I actually had Liam Baker come as a labourer for me for a few days. He was up in a roof with a dust-mask on, moving some insulation, knocking down some plaster batons and what not,” McIntosh says.

“I’ve had Jack Graham rock up a couple of times as well, and Noah Cumberland, who just finished up last year, he worked for me for about three months over summer.

“I’d like to get some more boys involved, but I don’t want to be that guy – I try not to approach them to do it, if they want to do it they’ll come approach me.”

If the connection between the business and the club was not clear, the yellow and black logo, and sleek paint job on his car, does more than enough.

“I was a bit nervous about getting the car wrapped and the signage put on it, because it’s obviously just the yellow stripe through the K,” McIntosh says.

The colours should help McIntosh’s company merchandise find its way to the Tigers faithful – he has also relished selling a line of hoodies and caps which have been embraced by teammates.

ANOTHER PERSONAL REINVENTION AHEAD

Maric says McIntosh had to embark on a steep learning curve after leaving his huge family of nine siblings in Perth to pursue his AFL career.

It took until the start of his third season to win a game, but by then something had clicked for him.

He won a Rising Star nomination for his Thursday night debut against Carlton as he racked up 23 disposals and famously burst away from his idol Chris Judd to boot a long goal, swinging the momentum Richmond’s way in the second term.

“I’ll tell you what – his start wasn’t perfect,” Maric says.

“He went through some interesting times there, but earnt a lot of trust back with the team because he stuck his head down and worked really hard on his game.

“He’s had to repeat that a few times during his career, working hard to earn selection … whether it was coming back from injury or losing his spot in the side, he just went, ‘I’m going to be that hardworking person who earns my spot back that way’.”

McIntosh fought fiercely to win his spot back in the 2020 premiership side after he was caught heartbreakingly between VFL and AFL flags in 2019 – held over for the senior decider only for Marlion Pickett to leapfrog him for that fairytale debut.

He has filled important roles on the wing and halfback, but over summer coach Adem Yze has explored an inside midfield role for the durable runner.

Sporting a thick headband – which he says is unlikely to make it to the regular season – McIntosh played as a full-time midfielder against West Coast and did the same in the heavy loss to Collingwood, where he was one of the Tigers’ best with 30 touches and a goal.

“It’s very, very different when you’re working in such close quarters and copping a lot of heavy contact,” McIntosh says.

“But I’ve really enjoyed learning the different running patterns, and seeing the game from a different angle, so I’ve been all for the move.”