Rising Richmond star Sam Banks is thrilled at the prospect of playing in front of the Tiger Army in his hometown state of Tasmania across the next two seasons.

It was revealed on Monday that Richmond will play one home game in 2026, and 2027, in Hobart, as part of a multimillion-dollar deal with the Tasmanian Government.

Speaking at Hobart’s Ninja Stadium, Banks expressed his excitement about being able to play in front of Tasmania’s strong Tiger Army.

“It’s awesome. Came down early yesterday and saw the family, the footy club let me come down a day early, which was awesome,” Banks said.

“It’s great news for myself, for the whole footy club, for Tassie, I think it’s a great thing and all the boys are really looking forward to it.

“Having some footy in southern Tassie with a massive supporter base of the Richmond footy club is going to be awesome.”

Banks is one of four current Tasmanian Tigers on the list, joining captain Toby Nankervis, 2025 leading goalkicker Seth Campbell, and fiery forward Rhyan Mansell.

It’s no surprise the quartet is delighted to have a game in their home state, with Banks saying they travelled earlier than the rest of the team for Richmond’s Round 23 game against North Melbourne in Hobart this past season.

“It’s great…the other boys are from up north but when we came down earlier in the year, everyone’s family came down…we got to spend some good time with them and it’s awesome to play in front of them and all our fans here,” he said.

Banks was also full of praise for the Tigers’ passionate Tasmanian following, who showed up in droves for that aforementioned Kangaroos clash.

“(The Tassie fans are) unreal. They’re so welcoming. At our Captain’s Run the day before the game we had a massive Tigers contingent down here and it was awesome to go around and meet everyone,” he said.