Kane Lambert is to be Richmond’s next Homecoming Hero this season.

The Tigers will pay tribute to their triple premiership star in the lead-up to Sunday’s Round 10 clash with North Melbourne at the MCG.

Lambert will walk to the Punt Road end, where he’s sure to be warmly received by the Tiger Army.

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

Richmond recruited Lambert with its third pick (No. 46 overall) in the AFL rookie draft at the end of 2014.

Lambert had been overlooked in numerous drafts before being taken by the Tigers as a 23-year-old after starring at VFL level with the Northern Bullants and Williamstown.

His senior debut with Richmond in Round 2 of the 2015 season against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG turned into a nightmare, when he sustained a severe shoulder injury during the third quarter.

He was sidelined for a couple of months, returning to senior action in Round 13 v Sydney.

Lambert retained his place in the line-up for the remainder of that season, with the team bowing out in an elimination final against North Melbourne.

Injury and a loss of form restricted Lambert to just 15 senior appearances in 2016, but the following season Lambert played a pivotal role for the Tigers as they surged to their first premiership for 37 years.

As a hard-running, high half-forward, Lambert was ideally suited to Richmond’s chaotic style of play that took the AFL world by storm across the 2017 season, culminating in the glorious Grand Final triumph over Adelaide.

Lambert’s elite endurance enabled him to cover plenty of ground, both defensively and offensively.

That two-way running, along with his ball-winning ability, creativity and toughness, made him an extremely valuable member of the Tigers team.

Highlighting how well Lambert performed throughout 2017 was the fact that he finished third in the Jack Dyer Medal.

The next season, when Richmond bowed out in the preliminary final against Collingwood, Lambert went one better in the Club’s Best and Fairest award with a second placing.

Lambert would go on to make a huge contribution to the Tigers’ back-to-back premierships of 2019-2020.

In 2019, as well as setting up numerous scoring opportunities for teammates, he also hit the scoreboard himself, finishing with an AFL career-high 18 goals for the season. 

He had an uncanny knack of kicking crucial games late in big games. The two last-quarter goals he booted in Richmond’s thrilling, low-scoring preliminary final win against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval in 2020 are indelibly etched in the minds of Yellow and Black barrackers.

Lambert's high standing among his teammates was underlined off the field, when he won the prestigious peer-voted Francis Bourke Award in 2020 for best upholding the playing group's trademark values.

Unfortunately, a chronic hip injury forced Lambert into a premature retirement in July 2022 at 30 years of age.

But what he achieved at Tigerland during his eight-year playing career far outweighed any disappointment attached to the untimely finish.

Lambert, with his resilience, dedication and total commitment to the Club’s cause, had earned enormous admiration from teammates, the Tiger Army and the AFL industry in general.

Kane Lambert Fact File
Date of birth: November 26, 1991
Height: 178cm
Playing weight: 77kg
Recruited by Richmond from: Williamstown/Northern Knights
Guernsey numbers: No. 23 and No. 48
AFL debut: Round 2, 2015 v Western Bulldogs, MCG
Games (2015-2022): 135
Goals: 78
Honours: Triple Richmond premiership player (2017, 2019, 2020)

Kane Lambert’s key Grand Final statistics
2017 v Adelaide: 22 disposals, eight contested possessions, four marks, seven inside-50s, one goal, seven score involvements, four intercepts, three tackles, 274 metres gained.
2019 v Greater Western Sydney: 20 disposals, 10 contested possessions, three marks, one goal, six score involvements, five intercepts, three tackles, 198 metres gained.
2020 v Geelong: 13 disposals, four contested possessions, one goal, five score involvements, three intercepts, four tackles, 158 metres gained.

Richmond's Homecoming Heroes since 2014...