Richmond favourite son Chris Newman has been lured back to the club to join new senior coach Adem Yze’s staff despite originally applying for the top job.
A Hall of Famer, Newman retired at the end of the 2015 AFL season and instantly joined Hawthorn as a development coach.
He has been at the Hawks ever since but will now return to the Tigers as an assistant to his former colleague Yze.
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Yze spent almost a decade at Hawthorn before three years with Melbourne as he began to eye off top jobs.
Richmond football boss Tim Livingstone said Yze made recruiting Newman one of his top priorities upon being appointed for 2024.
“Chris has forged an excellent reputation as a terrific coach across the past eight years working at Hawthorn in various roles,” Livingstone said.
“He is highly motivated with an excellent ability to communicate and form relations with players and staff, and a proven track record of developing individuals and helping to deliver growth and positive outcomes for a team.
“With Adem coming in as senior coach last week, he was particularly strong about getting Chris across after working closely with him at the Hawks. They have a terrific relationship, and we feel Chris will be an excellent fit for our playing group and coaching staff.”
Newman, who captained the club from 2009 to 2012 before handing over to Trent Cotchin, returns to a Punt Road where much has changed.
Just four players – Dylan Grimes, Dustin Martin, Kamdyn McIntosh and Nick Vlastuin – remain on the list from his final game in yellow and black.
“I cannot wait to get started back at Richmond, working closely with the players and football staff,” he said.
“It will be nice to be back in familiar colours and working with Adem and the coaches to help the team return to finals action.”
Newman’s role for 2024 is unclear but across his time at Hawthorn he was tasked with development, stoppage strategy and opposition analysis, backs and forwards.
He also coached Box Hill in the VFL to the 2018 premiership.
“There’s no doubting the positive impact Chris has made here at Hawthorn,” Hawks footy boss Rob McCartney said.
“Right from the beginning of his coaching journey, Chris demonstrated a great ability to build strong connections and relationships with his players and staff.
“After going through the process for the senior coach role at Richmond, Chris felt that gaining more experience in another coaching environment would help his development and further his senior coaching aspirations. Chris was upfront with the club about this and his desire to return to his former club.”
Hawthorn senior coach Sam Mitchell joked that Newman never stopped supporting the Tigers.
“He still calls all the (Richmond) boys by their nicknames and all those things. He gets plenty of ribbing from our coaches in here,” Mitchell said in August.
Newman’s move to Richmond comes with uncertainty surrounding former interim coach Andrew McQualter’s future, having been overlooked for Yze.
“He presented well during the process and demonstrated he is a senior coach of the future,” Tigers president John O’Rourke said.
“Andrew took the selfless decision to take on the interim role when Damien Hardwick left the club, and he has handled himself with confidence and class. He continued to impress during the interview process, and I have no doubt he will be a future AFL coach.”
Richmond assistant Xavier Clarke has also left to join North Melbourne.
A NEAFL premiership coach, he had been at the Tigers since 2016 as a development and forwards coach among other roles.
“We are really pleased to have Xavier join our club,” Kangaroos football boss Todd Viney said.
“A highly talented player and now a highly talented coach, Xavier understands what it takes to achieve the ultimate success having coached his own team, the NT Thunder, to a premiership and played a part in three premierships at Richmond.
“His eight years at Punt Road have seen him build his coaching experience and undertake an array of roles. He also understands the challenges that football can bring, having faced a number of injury setbacks over his career.
“The way in which he has forged a successful coaching career is a credit to him, and we see him as a perfect fit for our club.”
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