Essendon has poached Richmond talent chief Dan Richardson to fill its vacant football operations role

ESSENDON has poached Richmond talent chief Dan Richardson to fill its vacant football operations post. Richardson replaces Rob Kerr who departed the Bombers three months ago.

Richmond football manager Dan Richardson leaves at the end of the trade period. Picture: Ian Currie

ESSENDON has poached Richmond talent chief Dan Richardson to fill its vacant football operations post.

Richardson replaces Rob Kerr who departed the Bombers three months ago.

Axed AFL executive Simon Lethlean had been linked to the Dons footy position after being overlooked for the chief executive roles at Carlton, Collingwood and Hawthorn but did not take part in the process.

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Richardson, the son of three-time premiership Tiger Barry Richardson, worked as Richmond’s football talent boss this season in a revamped football department under general manager Neil Balme.

His duties included player contracting, salary cap management, player welfare, list management and recruiting and development of the club’s next generation academy.

Dan Richardson has moved to Essendon. Picture: Ian Currie

The former ESP player agent had been at the club since the start of 2013.

He will start at the Bombers early next year.

The reshaping of Richmond’s football department at the end of last season was seen as a major driver behind the club’s drought-breaking premiership.

Essendon confirmed the move late on Sunday.

“We are thrilled to announce Dan as our new general manager of football,” CEO Xavier Campbell said.

“Dan played a pivotal role in driving Richmond’s football department forward, helping them secure their first premiership in over 30 years, and as a club we are excited for him to bring his experience and success and share it with our coaches, players and staff.”

“Dan will work closely with our coaches and players to continue to drive our high performance culture, and I’m confident his fresh set of eyes will help us innovate and grow as we continue the hard work towards our goal of establishing a period of success.”

Richardson said it was a tough decision to leave the Tigers, and thanked the board, Balme, coach Damien Hardwick and captain Trent Cotchin.

“Career decisions are always difficult to make, and this has certainly been one of those occasions,” he said.

“The opportunity for my ongoing professional development presented by Xavier and the Essendon Football Club was compelling, and I am looking forward to this exciting new challenge.

“Essendon is heading in a positive direction on and off the field, and I look forward to getting down to business and helping them build on the strong foundations they have established in recent years.”

Richmond CEO Brendon Gale said the Tigers had “a number of highly credentialed and experienced administrators” to help cover Richardson’s departure.

“Dan has played an important role at the club over the past five years and can look back with pride on the contribution he has made to our success,” Gale said.