In late May, Kye Annand was a plumber and playing VFL footy for Geelong.

Fast forward to just over two months later, and Annand has become an important piece of Richmond’s backline, enjoying a Gatorade shower on Sunday afternoon after his first AFL win.

After making his debut in Round 14, Annand hasn’t missed a game, playing several roles in the Tigers’ defence and proving he belongs at AFL level.

In what has been a whirlwind past couple of months, even Annand admits he needs to remind himself of how far he has made it.

“It’s hit me a little bit now. Sometimes I’m driving to training in the morning, and I’m seeing tradie utes driving past, and I’m like, that was me a few weeks ago,” Annand said after Richmond’s Round 21 win over West Coast.

“I’m loving my time here. Every day coming into the Club, I’m over the moon. The boys, the whole Club in general, it’s been awesome.”

Annand and the entire backline stood tall against a wave of Eagle attacks, withstanding 52 West Coast inside-50s to secure the win.

Continuing his on-the-job growth, Annand recorded 14 disposals, five marks, 239 metres gained, four intercepts and an 85.7 per cent disposal efficiency in the victory.

“Over the moon. In the last quarter, the crowd, every single contest, every goal, the supporters were loud. I got a buzz every time something big happened, so to get over the line, it’s awesome,” Annand said.

“As a backline, we are very connected at the moment, playing good footy together. 

“Funky [Ben Miller] coming back was massive, he was huge on [Jake] Waterman. [Luke Trainor] took a few nice marks, [Nathan Broad] is always talking, [same as Nick Vlastuin]…staying connected and everyone plays their role within that.”

Richmond now turns its focus to Saturday night’s clash against Adelaide.