Kevin Bartlett (from “KB: A Life In Football” book)

“Tommy’s love of the game was contagious. He passed on his work ethic to his players, and he was ahead of his time by creating goals for each player. He was greatly loyal to his players, and he held them in great trust . . . He had a tremendous love of his players and the feeling was reciprocated . . . I believe a lot of us played for Tommy more so than the club because as far as a lot of us were concerned Tom Hafey was the club . . . When we lost, many players would feel as though they had let Tommy down. They were embarrassed to look him in the eye. That’s the sign of a great coach . . . Tommy always had a personal message for me when we spoke one-on-one before a match. He would ask how I was feeling, remind me of my importance to the side and of his confidence in me. His positive reinforcement was outstanding.”

Kevin Sheedy

"Tommy Hafey was one of the most inspirational people you will ever meet – not just for Richmond Football Club but the many people he crossed paths with. I often wonder where we would sit as players today and where we would ever be without that man. I couldn't believe that at 35 years of age, when I was 17, how powerful a person he was. My own father has died, and I met this guy, and his dedication and his inspiration was just magnificent. Most of us at 18 don't really know who you're going to be, let alone where you're going to end up. He'd shape that for you. He was intimidating because he expected you to get the best out of yourself, no matter what."

(From “The Hafey Years” book)

Francis Bourke

“Success was not an overnight process, but there was a core of us through those times. We arrived at the time at similar stages, at similar ages, got married at similar times and our wives became friends. Tommy was the mortar that gave the brick wall its solidarity and as different players came in everyone got swept up in that. Premierships are nice, but it’s the friendships that endure. That’s the special thing.”

Dick Clay

“Tommy brought a professional approach to footy. He brought passion to my football. Tommy taught mean what winning means and what losing means. Winning gave us camaraderie and spirit and Tommy helped to create that. If we lost, we’d shake their hands but we’d be seething inside. It was simply expected of us to win.”

Michael Green

“I formed the view when I was playing and I hold it now, that the most important job of a coach is to be respected by your players. That’s more than half the job. If you are a genius strategically and tactically but your players don’t respect you, they won’t listen. If the major part of being a coach is to be respected, so the players listen to you, Tommy was a great coach.”

Ian Stewart

“Hafey was a gregarious type of coach. He was interested in you and interested in your family. Straight away, you could not but like Tommy. He was warm and compassionate to his players. So, you had an empathy with him, and you wanted to please him. To please him you had to play well . . . Even the support staff loved Tommy – they thought the world of him . . . He wasn’t strong tactically but in terms of communication, leading by example, caring and loyalty, you’d give him 10 out of 10.”

Wayne Walsh

“Tommy might say, ‘Geez boys, you were as weak as piss last week’, but he would never individualise. I just thought Tommy was fantastic. He might ring you up if your form had been a bit ordinary and say, ‘Gee, you trained well this week and you’ll kill ‘em tomorrow’, and if someone was a bit down on confidence, he’d just give you a bit of a lift.”

Robbie McGhie

“Tommy’s influence on Richmond was all about confidence, having a will to win and succeeding in both sport and your life. He made terrific characters out of a lot of young men . . . The thing that struck you about Tommy was his passion and the way he spoke to you. He was almost like a second father and talked about what footy had done for him and how good we could be over the next 10 years. You understood that to be successful you had to follow Tommy’s way, even though most of us would slip out and have a beer and what not, which he understood. A big part of what he spoke about to every young player was not to fail – get the best out of yourself.”