When Richmond AFLW player Harriet Corder first arrived at Tigerland one year ago, the opportunity to develop as a leader was something high on her list.

Just one year later, her ambition has been realised, after being announced in the Tigers’ 2022 leadership group last Friday. 

"I’m really excited. It’s my second season at the Club, and I'm just absolutely honoured to be vice-captaining alongside Sarah (Hosking) and under Katie Brennan," she said.

"I spent the first year finding my feet at Tigerland, but I’m really excited this year to take that a step further and hopefully lead the group to something successful."

02:25

One who prides herself on leading by example, the 29-year-old defender wants her actions on and off the field to speak for themself. 

"I’ll probably just be me, be authentic and see where that gets me," she said. 

Cordner, who capped off a stellar debut season at Richmond last year with All Australian selection and fourth place in the Tigers’ Best and Fairest, is looking forward to learning the ropes under two seasoned leaders in Brennan and Hosking.

"Both of them also do a lot of leading by example," Cordner said.

"Those two just really lead from the front and lead with their actions, and we hope that everyone jumps on board with that."

02:22

With a number of emerging leaders on Richmond’s list, there is a strong emphasis within the group that each and every Tiger has a role to play. 

"There are 30 girls in the squad and it’s important for everyone to bring their individual leadership style to the group," Cordner said.

"I think that is important on game day and at training.

"We’re starting to see that through this pre-season, we’ve got some really strong girls stepping up and everyone’s got different styles so it’s cool for everyone to bring those."

As Richmond approaches its third season in the AFLW, Cordner said it was special to play such a key role in the Tigers’ growth.

"It’s awesome, it’s one of the reasons why I moved to Richmond in the first place," she said.

"It’s cool to be a part of that and it’s exciting to think that we're in our third year in the competition now and we’re really starting to build something special."

"Our game plan is coming to life, we’ve got a really good group of girls who have been here for a few years now, and it’s exciting to see what we can do this year."