Key defender Ben Miller acted as a pillar for Richmond's back six this season, after finding career-best form, by locking down some of the league's most dangerous forwards.  

Having played in all 23 games this year, Miller credited his success to being able to stay consistent for longer and finding a sense of belief in himself.

“The consistency pretty much over my whole career, except for the last two years, has been such an up and down journey for me,” Miller told Richmond Media.

“In and out of the team, week in week out, in my previous years, so just the belief I have gathered from the last two years and the coaches backing me in and having a consistent run at AFL football, I definitely think I have grown a lot.

“The biggest thing for me last year was working on that consistency, and I felt like I had a good growth in that this year.

“There were certainly still weeks that could’ve been better, so that’s another big focus going into next year.”

Richmond claimed five wins in 2025, showing signs of improvement with nine debutants pulling on an AFL jumper for the first time.

Miller took positives from how seamlessly the younger players integrated into the side, however, he still hopes to build on the consistency within the group.

“We had nine debutants this year, so getting more games into them and fast tracking them as quickly as we can, I think every line should have good confidence in what they can gain,” Miller said.

“I think the belief in the group and for people to put us down to get no wins throughout the year, that never really set in on anyone.

“We all believed that we would go out there week in, week out to win, and we believe that we are good enough to beat every team out there.

“But sometimes it just comes down to the four-quarter effort, which I think we lacked a little bit this year.”

One thing that remained consistent this year was the structure of the side's back six, a lineup that worked coherently together over the course of the season.

“I think we were the most unchanged lineup,” Miller said.

“I think we gelled really well together back there, as a back six, back seven.

“We would only have one change now and then, but we have a good feeling of how each other wants to play and each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

In hopes of coming back fresh and ready for pre-season, Miller has opted for some much-earned family time before he returns to the Swinburne Centre.

“I’m going to New Zealand for a couple of weeks with my family, but training is still a big focus,” Miller said.

“I have set a new challenge again this year to get better, whether that is in the gym, or just leadership, or just conditioning in general.

"I will have a big focus to try and get the most out of myself this off-season.”