Richmond legend Roger Dean will present the Ron Barassi Medal to the winning captain of the 2026 Grand Final, the AFL announced on Monday.
Dean captained the Tigers to their 1969 flag and is regarded as Richmond royalty, one of only 10 Tigers in history to be a Club Immortal.
His playing career at Tigerland started when he tried out with the fourths, as a 15-year-old, in 1956.
He played in the fourths premiership side that season and the following year completed a meteoric rise through Richmond’s ranks.
During the 1957 season, Dean graduated from the fourths, to the under-19s, and then the reserves, before making his senior league debut with the Tigers in the final home-and-away round against eventual premier team Melbourne.
It wasn’t until 1961, however, that he firmly established himself as a regular member of Richmond’s senior side.
Initially, Dean made his name as a half-forward, winning the Club’s leading goalkicker award in 1964.
He then had an extremely successful stint in the back pocket – minding the opposition’s resting rovers and making life hell for them with his tough, uncompromising style of play – before returning to the forward line for the final part of his league career.
Although only 175cm and 73kg, Dean was a ‘pocket rocket’ – a strong, bold, fiercely determined player. Those qualities combined to make him such an inspirational leader.
Dean was vice-captain and a key member of Richmond’s drought-breaking 1967 premiership side.
He took over the Club’s captaincy the following year and went on to captain the Tigers from 1968-71, including the 1969 Grand Final triumph over Carlton.
After playing in Richmond’s 1973 reserve-grade premiership side, Dean announced his retirement from league football.
He’d played 245 senior games all-up and kicked 204 goals in a wonderful career with the Tigers.
In 1999, when Richmond announced its Team of the Century, Dean was named on a half-forward flank.
Dean also was one of the Tigers’ inaugural Hall of Fame inductees, and he’s been a Club Life Member since 1964.
