All good things must come to an end, and after three premierships, the Tigers appear set for a period outside of the top eight.
With an ageing list that has already seen the departure of the coach, captain and legend forward, can Richmond steady in 2024?
Letter Grade: C+
The Sporting News analyses Richmond's 2023 campaign.
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Did the Tigers over/under achieve in 2023?
It was always expected that Richmond would be on the gradual decline in 2023, but they still had hopes of playing finals.
But they didn't know coach Damien Hardwick would depart mid-season and gun forward Tom Lynch would miss most of the season through injury.
All things considered, to be in the final eight race until the last couple of weeks of the season is a good result, considering the upheaval at the club.
However, with the club targeting finals in 2023, you would have to say they underachieved in reaching this goal.
Going forward, the retirements of Jack Riewoldt and Trent Cotchin will affect the team's leadership and experience.
What worked?
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A hip injury to Robbie Tarrant provided an opportunity to young key defender Tylar Young, who took it with both hands.
Despite being 24 years old, Young made his debut in 2023, after being drafted on the rookie list in 2022, and became one of the best one-on-one defenders in the competition.
Young was trusted with important jobs throughout the season, and at one stage through mid-year, was the equal-second best defender one-on-one in the competition per contests won, behind Carlton's Jacob Weitering.
Richmond's defence looks in solid hands with Young developing, Josh Gibcus to be fit in 2024 and the likes of Dylan Grimes and Nathan Broad still going strong.
What went wrong?
With an ageing Riewoldt doing his best to hold down the key forward role in Tom Lynch's injury absence, Richmond struggled to find solid tall options to go through their forward line.
Samson Ryan and Ben Miller were tried during the season but couldn't lock down a spot.
Jacob Bauer showed promise through the end of the year but still looks a way off being a strong player.
With Lynch appearing to be the only reliable big attacker for 2024, it will interesting to see whether Noah Balta is redrafted as forward in 2024.
How Richmond would love to have a promising developing forward on the books, such as Mabior Chol or Callum Coleman-Jones, with both traded away in the last couple of years.
Richmond best player
The Tigers brought in Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper to bolster their midfield with the former having an excellent season, being one of the favourites to win the Brownlow.
You can expect Taranto to comfortably win Richmond's best and fairest award despite Dustin Martin's strong form in the latter part of the season.
Taranto averaged 29 disposals and six clearances a game, also kicking 19 goals to underline his danger when in the forward 50.
Who should Richmond target in AFL trade period?
With the defence looking sorted and midfield bolstered in the recent trade period, Richmond looks light on for tall forward options with Jacob Bauer the only developing key attacker.
It's likely the Tigers will target a key forward in the draft but could also look at picking one up during the AFL trade period.
Carlton's Jack Silvagni could be a potential foil for Lynch and Balta, while Sydney's Hayden McLean could also be looking for opportunities after being relegated behind Joel Amartey.
