Two-time premiership Tiger, Jayden Short, knows exactly what it takes to reach the AFL summit.

Now, the 2020 Jack Dyer Medallist is determined to pass on those invaluable lessons to Richmond’s impressive group of youngsters.

Short, who was a rookie draft selection of the Tigers in 2015 and has tasted the ultimate success, knows Richmond’s recent dynasty was built on the foundation of pure hard work.

“It's an opportunity to grow with people and show them the way of how I feel I got to the top, when we were winning,” Short said on SEN about his 2026 leadership role.

“I like to think from probably my first eight years, we didn't really have any massive bunches of first round draft picks come in. I really do believe that it was just a lot of hard work.

“We had a lot of players that were just willing to put in the work, get better every day, and I truly believe that got us to where it got us.

“I've been trying to preach that to the younger guys...obviously their talent is immense and I haven't really seen anything like it before, but there's a lot of hard work that goes into winning a game of footy.

“I don't think we can just rely on the top end talent to just win those games. I think we need everyone to be prepared to put the work in and really fight our asses off every day and every week.”

To their credit, Short says the Tigers have been putting in an enormous amount of work throughout the summer. The 30-year-old hopes more success isn’t too far away.

“Their talent is like I've never seen before. I also have seen them just absolutely bust their ass throughout pre-season as well and I know they're not just relying on their talent,” Short said of Richmond’s young talent.

“I've seen them work hard and I've been really impressed with the way they've gone about it. I'm just hoping we can get some reward for all the hard work we are putting in.”

Short played 15 games last season, missing a chunk of matches due to a calf injury, but is poised to take up his spot at halfback and have a big impact this year.

“I think majority back to halfback. I've trained there throughout the pre-season and I really enjoy it,” Short said.

“That's sort of my strength; the run and carry and trying to break a few lines.

“I've been settled down there, but I'm really open to anything that Ooze (Adem Yze) needs, to be honest. I really enjoy being down there with the boys and trying to get the ball moving forward for us.”