Acquaintances galore will be renewed at Richmond, when the Club’s coaches and players get stuck into pre-season training in the coming weeks.

New Tigers assistant coach Blake Caracella finds himself on the same side again as his 2003 Brisbane premiership teammate Justin Leppitsch, who has rejoined the coaching panel at Punt Road after a two-year stint as senior coach of the Lions.

Caracella also will work closely at Richmond with another member of that ’03 Brisbane premiership line-up – Tigers development and VFL coach Craig McRae.

And, Caracella has another premiership teammate at Tigerland in senior coach Damien Hardwick, with the pair having played together in Essendon’s 2000 flag side.

Caracella’s connections to his league football past don’t end there, either . . .

During Caracella’s time as an assistant coach at Geelong, Richmond’s new General Manager – Football, Neil Balme, was in charge of the Cats’ football department, while new Tiger mature-age midfield recruit Josh Caddy was a member of their playing group.

Balme also was running Collingwood’s football department, when Craig McRae was involved with the Magpies as their football development manager.

Newly-appointed Richmond development coach Xavier Clarke will see a familiar face at Punt Road in his former St Kilda teammate Andrew McQualter, who has been promoted to the Tigers’ senior coaching panel, after working for the past three years in the Club’s development department.

In McQualter’s new role as Richmond’s midfield stoppage coach, he’ll be closely involved with recent Tiger trade pick-ups, talented midfield pair Josh Caddy and Dion Prestia, who he spent the 2012 season with at Gold Coast.

And, it’s been well documented that good mates Caddy and Prestia are looking forward to teaming up at Tigerland, following the time they spent together with the Suns.