Richmond have announced the return of former club captain Chris Newman, who has been unveiled as the newest assistant coach at Punt Road.
The Tigers' Hall of Fame member lands back with the yellow and black after eight years at Hawthorn, where he has held a multitude of roles under Alastair Clarkson and current senior coach Sam Mitchell.
Newman would first take on the role as development coach at the Hawks before leading the club's VFL side Box Hill, who would win the premiership under Newman in 2018 following a strong period for the Hawks' reserves.
The 41-year-old soon returned to the AFL ranks as a strategy coach under Clarkson before further jobs leading the club's backline and eventually forwards in recent years.
The 268-game ex-Tiger is now set to continue his coaching career at Richmond, where he was recently part of the club's search process to replace the departed Damien Hardwick.
While having lost out to Melbourne assistant Adem Yze for the job, Newman has taken up an assistant role to work under the Tigers' new top man.
โI cannot wait to get started back at Richmond, working closely with the players and football staff,โ Newman said in a club statement.
โIt will be nice to be back in familiar colours and working with Adem and the coaches to help the team return to finals action.โ
Newman first joined the Tigers in 2000 through the National Draft, where he was taken 55th overall. He would play 14 seasons with the club, four of which were spent as captain before handing the reins over to triple-premiership skipper Trent Cotchin.
Hawthorn football boss Rob McCartney said Newman will be sorely missed at Waverley following his immense impact on the club.
โThere's no doubting the positive impact Chris has made here at Hawthorn,โ McCartney said.
โRight from the beginning of his coaching journey, Chris demonstrated a great ability to build strong connections and relationships with his players and staff.
โAfter 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.
โWe'd like to acknowledge Chris' service at the Hawks and wish him, his wife Lauren, and their children Indiana, Macie, Alba and Rylee all the best in the future.โ
Newman and Yze are set to lead the Tigers into a new era following Hardwick's decision to resign before linking up with the Gold Coast Suns.
