Trent Cotchin will step down from his role as captain for the 2022 season.
The Tigers veteran is the longest-serving captain of the Richmond Football Club, playing 188 of his 268 senior games as skipper.
Cotchin was appointed the role after the 2012 season, before leading the side to three premierships in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
The midfielder decision to step down from the captaincy duties has left some big shoes to be filled. So, who could captain the Tigers in 2022?
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We've named five options the Tigers are likely to consider.
Age: 30
Career Games: 260
Dustin Martin's record speaks for itself. A three-time Norm Smith medalist, two-time best and fairest and a Brownlow medalist. He also performs when it counts, having won three Gary Ayres Awards for being the best finals player.
He is sixth in the competition by way of AFL rating points, averaging 22.6 disposals and 1.2 goals per game in 2021.
As an extraordinarily good player, the captaincy would only add to Martin's long list of accolades. He would be well placed to continue the values and attitudes imparted by Cotchin under the well-documented strength of the pair's relationship.
Despite being contracted to the end of 2024, he will be 31-years old by the mid-season of 2022, meaning his potential appointment would likely be a short term prospect.
Age: 23
Career Games: 77
Depending on the leadership direction that Richmond elect to take, Jack Graham is primed as a long-term candidate.
At just 23 years of age, Jack Graham is already a two-time premiership player. By the time he had played five senior games, three of them were finals.
As a hearty midfielder that leads through gritty and determined acts, Graham led Richmond for tackles in 2021, averaging 5.5 per game. He was also ranked second in the competition this year for pressure acts, averaging 26.6 per game.
Speaking to SEN Breakfast earlier in the season, Graham said he thought he had some leadership qualities, but was more content to learn off guys like Cotchin, Shane Edwards or Jack Riewoldt for the time being.
The midfielder proved an ability to overcome intermittent omissions from the side in 2020, and seems to have cemented his spot in the team in 2021, playing 22 games this season.
Age: 30
Career Games: 192
Dylan Grimes has emerged as a stalwart of Richmond's defence, being rewarded with consistent form by winning this season's best and fairest award. He was part of all three premiership sides as an influential defender, especially after filling the void left by Alex Rance in 2019.
Grimes is versatile in defence. He's notorious for an ability to match up on forwards of any size, as well as for his spoiling prowess. He is another defender not afraid to leave his man and take intercept marks.
Grimes is a no-fuss footballer who has given everything to Richmond since he arrived at the club in 2009, and the captaincy wouldn't go undeserved. Although, along with Martin, Grimes will also be 31 years of age next season, ruling him out of being a long term candidate.
Earlier this season, he signed a contract extension until the end of 2023.
Age: 27
Career Games: 173
Nick Vlastuin has also built a solid career since his debut in 2013, when he was nominated for the Rising Star Award. Since then, he has never looked out of place in Richmond's defensive set-up.
Much like Grimes, Vlastuin can adapt to the game situation as the play unfolds in front of him. He is an accomplished one-on-one defender, and is capable of playing as a spare in the backline, leading Richmond for intercept marks this season. Not only is he a hardened defender, but his disposal efficiency exiting the backline is at 84.4%.
He remains under contract at the Tigers until 2026, after signing a massive deal earlier this season. He has already been in contention to captain the side as a caretaker in 2019 and is shaping as a viable long-term option as his importance to the side grows in the absence of Bachar Houli and David Astbury.
Age: 25
Careers Games: 114
Jayden Short has set up an important role in the Richmond lineup by utilising his exceptional foot skills to rebound off the half-back line, notching up 24.6 disposals per game in 2021.
His recent form also propelled him into winning Richmond's best and fairest award in 2020. He is a player who is able to perform with or without the presence of other key names, opening up a left-field option for the captaincy.
Short is one of the more consistent players that are aged in their mid-20s and he would be able to take the reigns as captain for a more sustained period of time. Although his contract - at this stage - only ties him to the Tigers until the end of next season.
Other potential candidates are current vice-captain Jack Riewoldt, Shane Edwards (who has captained the side as a caretaker before) or Kane Lambert, although they are also nearing the end of their careers. Noah Balta has also been described as a young player that has many leadership qualities.
Even though no decision has been made, Richmond CEO Brendon Gale is confident in the club's leadership program to be able to find a suitable captain for next year.
"As a club you are always planning for these eventualities across the business," he said in a club statement on Tuesday.
"Succession planning has been a key element of our football leadership program and the club will be well placed to make a decision on the next captain when that time comes."