Jason Castagna will be Richmond’s Homecoming Hero for Sunday’s Round 9 clash with West Coast at the MCG.

The Tigers will pay tribute to their triple premiership small forward in the lead-up to the match.

Castagna will walk to the Punt Road end, where he’ll receive the plaudits of the Tiger Army.

He’ll then kick a ceremonial goal, while highlights of his playing career will be shown on the MCG’s screens.

Richmond recruited Castagna with its second pick (No. 29 overall) in the 2015 AFL rookie draft.

The Northern Knights/Marcellin College product spent the entire 2015 season at VFL level with the Tigers, playing predominantly as a rebounding small defender, before making his senior debut in Round 6 of the 2016 season against Port Adelaide at the MCG.

Castagna made five senior appearances all-up that season, but the following year he established himself as a key member of Richmond’s line-up in a new role as a hard-running, small forward who applied frenetic pressure to opposition defenders.

He played all 25 games in the Tigers’ glorious, drought-breaking 2017 premiership season and kicked 26 goals, including one in the Grand Final triumph over Adelaide.

The following year, when Richmond just fell short, bowing out in the preliminary final, Castagna finished with 26 goals from 22 games.

Then, in the Tigers’ 2019 premiership season, Castagna scored 27 goals from 24 games. He didn’t register a goal in the Grand Final success against Greater Western Sydney but was a constant threat to the Giants, with five scoring shots that resulted in behinds from the 20 disposals that he racked up.

When Richmond made it back-to-back premierships in the 2020 COVID-19 affected season, Castagna booted 17 goals from 21 games, including a crucial set-shot six-pointer during the early stages of the third quarter of the Grand Final against Geelong at the Gabba.

From 2017-2020, Castagna featured in 92 of a possible 95 matches, which was the equal most of any Richmond player, and he averaged more than a goal a game throughout that time.

To underline his consistency, Castagna was one of only two Tigers to boot 25 goals or more in each of the 2017, 2018 and 2019 season. The other player to achieve that feat was Dustin Martin.

When Castagna surprisingly announced his retirement from AFL football on the eve of the 2023 season, at just 26 years of age, Richmond’s General Manager of Football Talent Blair Hartley had this to say about the triple premiership Tiger.

“Jason has been the ultimate teammate over the course of his 134 games at Richmond," Hartley said.

“He worked so hard on his craft to become an integral part of our team by playing a team-orientated and disciplined role in our forward line.

“Jason is so selfless and went about his business with minimum fuss. He set the tone with the pressure he created in the forward half of the ground through effort, grit and the ability to win or halve contests for the team.

"He has had a terrific career, playing an important role in three premierships, and can walk away proud of his achievements as an AFL footballer.”

Jason Castagna Fact File
Date of birth: July 12, 1996
Height: 181cm
Playing weight: 80kg
Recruited by Richmond from: Northern Knights/Marcellin College
Guernsey numbers: No. 46 and No. 11
AFL debut: Round 6, 2016 v Port Adelaide, MCG
Games (2015-2022): 134
Goals: 127
Honours: Triple Richmond premiership player (2017, 2019, 2020)

Richmond's Homecoming Heroes since 2014...