Richmond premiership players’ ‘farewell’ speeches fall flat

Richmond’s Best and Fairest night has been a disaster with departing Tigers stars raising eyebrows with their final speeches.

Dustin Martin is “happily retired”. Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Richmond stars Liam Baker and Shai Bolton have raised eyebrows with what is expected to be their “farewell” messages to the club.

Tuesday night’s Jack Dyer Medal event turned prickly at times while the club stares down the barrel of a mini player exodus following a nightmare wooden-spoon season.

The event reportedly got off to a frosty start when Tigers president John O’Rourke appeared to deliver a thinly-veiled swipe to departing players.

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In the same evening, Baker and Bolton stepped up to the microphone after winning awards — and their delivery has fallen flat in the eyes of footy fans.

Their speeches were filmed and one video shared on Twitter has more than 100,000 views.

The awards night was an unfortunate reminder for the Tigers Army of how many top-level players are saying goodbye to the club after wantaway star Daniel Rioli took out the club champion award, polling 40 votes to pip defender Nick Vlastuin (38 votes) and captain Toby Nankervis (36 votes).

Rioli last month requested a trade to the Gold Coast Suns, despite being contracted to the Tigers until the end of the 2027 season.

Rioli isn’t the only player poised to depart the Tigers in the coming weeks, with Bolton, Baker and Jack Graham all eyeing moves to Western Australia.

With West Coast announcing former Richmond interim coach Andrew McQualter as its new head coach, it was widely reported Bolton and Baker are increasingly likely to move to the West Australian powerhouse club during the 2024 AFL Trade Period.

Baker and Bolton – who both played in the 2019 and 2020 Richmond premierships – finished equal-fifth in the Jack Dyer Medal count.

The speeches they delivered were not a good look in the eyes of some.

Liam Baker and Shai Bolton at the Richmond B+F. Photo: Twitter, @aflcentral2.

“It’s been a great year and I appreciate everything the club’s done for myself and my family over the years and this year,” Baker said to the crowd.

“I’m looking forward to what the club does in the future. I can’t wait to support it and it’s going to be great looking from afar, so thank you for everything. Take it easy.”

Bolton said: “I just want to thank my teammates. Thank my coaches. Thanks to my partner Hasina back at home. She couldn’t be here at the moment because we’ve got another (baby) on the way.

“Yeah. That’s it from me. So thank you.”

The reaction from fans on Twitter was brutal.

Twitter user @FrankWCE1992 posted: “Couple of rocket scientists right there”.

Another fan posted: “These blokes can’t wait to get out of that place. Disgusting speeches, truly disgusting”.

One fan described Baker’s speech as “cringworthy”.

Twitter user Mark Alvey also wrote: “Probably two of the most disrespectful & disgraceful speeches you will ever see”.

Rioli, meanwhile, said in his acceptance speech it was “humbling” to accept the award.

Your 2024 Best & Fairest 🥇#JDM2024 | #gotigespic.twitter.com/4EqUMr4a3Y

— Richmond FC 🐯 (@Richmond_FC) October 1, 2024

“It’s pretty special. My grandfather (Maurice Rioli) won this award a couple of times a long time ago now, so to be able to receive this award, it means the world to me.”

He then turned his attention to his teammates.

“I love you boys so much. We kept showing up throughout the year, it’s been a tough year, but a lot of opportunity,” Rioli said.

“‘Ooze’ (Yze) has been amazing in his first year. We didn’t get the chocolates as much as we did this year, but he’s an amazing coach. He just loves his players, so much respect for him.

“I hope everyone has a good night tonight and I love every single one of you in the room.”

Addressing the room earlier in the night, O’Rourke acknowledged “the selfless commitment and efforts of our leadership group and all of our experienced players”.

The 2024 Richmond Best and Fairest.

He then pointed to the loyalty of defender Nathan Broad, who finished fourth in the best and fairest count – two months after signing a two-year contract extension.

“No matter what happens in the trade period and immediately ahead, we know we’ve still got a very strong cohort of experience and leadership with a group that still has so much to offer on-field, but can make an equally strong contribution on setting the standards and guiding our young players through this next phase of growth,” O’Rourke said during his 10-minute address.

“I could mention a dozen players that we have in this category, but by way of example – and he probably won’t like me singling him out – how fortunate are we to have players of the character of a Nathan Broad?

Dustin Martin broke his silence on his mooted Suns move. Picture: Mark Stewart

“Here’s a player who was drafted into an era of immediate club success as a mature-age player. I know through this year, I’m sure he could have explored options to see out his career in his home state, or perhaps look for more lucrative options with other clubs. But he chose to extend for a further two years.

“And in his own words: ‘No one really wanted me as a 22-year-old, but Richmond did. I’m fully indebted to this club and I’m looking to get us back up the ladder, which is exciting.’ What a Richmond man – and his optimism around the place this year I thought was brilliant.”

In another eventful development, quietly spoken Dustin Martin also addressed the rumours of his potential return to play in the AFL with the Gold Coast Suns and former mentor Damien Hardwick.

Arriving at the event, Martin told 9News Melbourne that he was “happily retired”.

The 2017 Brownlow Medallist and three-time Norm Smith Medal winner pulled the plug on his AFL career after the Tigers’ last game of the season, announcing his retirement with immediate effect.

— with foxsports.com.au

Originally published as Richmond premiership players’ ‘farewell’ speeches fall flat