Richmond VFL star Lachlan Wilson endured a long wait for an opportunity to prove his wares at state-league level, before finally breaking through at 25 years of age in 2024.

Now he is dominating on-field for the Club he grew up supporting, establishing himself as a durable and versatile midfielder with a strong appetite for the contest.

Originally growing up playing soccer in Melbourne, Wilson took after his father, who hails from Belfast and played the sport for Ireland’s Under-21 team.

But growing up in an AFL-crazed state, it wasn’t long before the 26-year-old discovered footy.

“I grew up playing soccer, but all of my mates at primary school and early high school were playing footy, and I enjoyed playing with them,” Wilson said.

“They were saying you’re not a bad kick and you’re a pretty good tackler. I love tackling, and you can’t really tackle in soccer, so I made the switch.

“Everyone in Australia plays footy, it’s a big sport, so I thought I would take footy on and lucky I did.”

In his early days on the footy field, Wilson played for Ivanhoe Junior Football Club and Kew Comets in the Yarra Junior Football League (YJFL), also representing the YJFL on multiple occasions. 

He also took home several league best and fairest awards and premierships across his junior career, as he began to stand out from the others.

But his strong form did not lead to an instant step up into the Coates Talent League competition (formerly TAC Cup), so Wilson changed clubs to help gain more attention. 

“I made the YJFL Yarra rep teams in Under-14s and Under-15s, but I wasn’t making the TAC squads,” he said.

“So, I made the move to Kew Comets for one year to try and get into those squads because they were in Division 1 and I was previously playing in Division 2 for Ivanhoe.”

After trialling for a list spot at the Northern Knights in 2015 before being unsuccessful in making the final squad, Wilson got his breakthrough in 2016, which was his top-age season, as he played quality football for the Knights with the AFL draft approaching.

But unfortunately for the skilled and courageous midfielder, his name was left unread on draft night, a shattering moment after all the hard work he had put in.

“I played for the Northern Knights in the Under-18s season and had a fairly good year. I didn’t get picked up after hoping I would,” Wilson said.

“I was talking to East Perth and the Northern Blues about their next year (2017), but AFL didn’t really seem to be an option at that stage, which was shattering for me.”

Despite going undrafted, the speedy midfielder had already found some joy after playing a massive hand in Heidelberg’s 2016 premiership back in September.

Remarkably, in just his fourth ever game of senior football, Wilson helped the Tigers come back from 26 points down against Macleod to win their first flag since 2009.

Heidelberg had lost their previous four grand finals, as a lightly built 17-year-old Wilson stepped onto Preston City Oval, with many intently watching how the youngster would go.

He would go on to silence any doubters that day, producing a glistening performance that saw him awarded the best on ground medal, as he put his name in lights for all of the football public to see.

“We had an ex-AFL player in the team at the time and he sort of got dropped for me,” Wilson said.

“Winning the best on ground and the premiership that early on in my life pushed me to be more successful and drove me to be the best player that I could be.”

After another year of development at local level for Heidelberg in 2017, Wilson trained with Coburg in the VFL for five weeks the next year, before not being offered a contract with the club.

It was another blow for the hard-working footballer who had been denied an AFL opportunity just 12 months prior.

However, Wilson would go on to establish himself as one of the premier midfielders in the Northern Football League (NFL) over the next few years with several sensational individual seasons.

After Covid-19 cancelled the 2020 season, Wilson broke through for a VFL opportunity with the Northern Bullants, but he didn’t end up playing a game for the season.

But once again, he continued to bounce back from adversity, as he put together a brilliant 2021 season, resulting in him winning his first of two Frank Rosbrook Medals as the NFL's best and fairest player.

But still the calls weren’t coming, as the then 23-year-old's VFL dream continued to slip away.

Fast forward two years, and after a further two premierships back-to-back for Heidelberg and another Frank Rosbrook Medal, Wilson knew it was time to give the VFL one last crack.

“I won my second Frank Rosbrook Medal (in 2023) and I thought maybe I should go and give the VFL another crack, because I am still trying to play AFL,” Wilson said.

“But if you want to play AFL, you should be in the VFL system, so I thought I would give Richmond a call because they are the team I go for and see if I could get a spot there.”

He picked up the phone and messaged Steve Morris, who was Richmond VFL coach at the time, and asked whether he would be able to trial for a list spot.

Wilson then got a train-on opportunity but was told by the Club that it was unlikely that he would be offered a contract due to his age.

“To get a pre-season opportunity at this club was pretty difficult, they were telling me that they go for younger (players) and they didn’t want me to do a full pre-season and then get cut towards the end,” he said.

“But I thought this is the club I want to play for, and I really just wanted to be a part of the Richmond family.

“So, I thought I would back myself in and I was lucky enough to get the last contract at Richmond.”

It was a breakthrough moment many years in the making for the lifelong Tigers supporter, an opportunity that came about from an unwavering level of resilience and a strong desire to get that most out of his talents.

“Just to play one game was my goal, all throughout my local footy career I had people say to me that I might make a VFL list, but that I won’t be a consistent VFL player,” he said.

“So, I sort of had that driving me the whole time and I felt like how I played in local footy, I could play a similar level in VFL.”

In 2024 he proved all the doubters wrong, not only by making his long-awaited VFL debut, but he also took home the Guinane Medal as Richmond VFL’s best and fairest player.

Now the 26-year-old still dreams of running around on an AFL field and will do everything in his power to get there, until the light no longer flickers.

“Even after winning that VFL best and fairest, I really wanted to knuckle down and give my best shot at trying to get drafted in 2025,” he said.

“Obviously my goal still is and always will be to make the highest level I can, the AFL.

“So, if I can improve my standards, fitness, kicking, and all of the football attributes, at least I can finish off my VFL career saying I gave it my best shot at getting drafted and I can sleep happily after that.”

It is an incredible mindset from Wilson, who works as a plumber full-time, doing a lot of work on commercial properties and buildings. 

He also loves getting away from work and footy by going up the coast and relaxing with family and friends.

“I have a dog Narla, I am an animal lover and I love taking my dogs out for walks,” Wilson said.

“I love going down to the beach, spending time down the coast. It could be Torquay coast way or Sorrento, just spending time down at the beach with my mates.”

Wilson has experienced another strong season for Richmond this year, playing 16 games up until this point, as the Tigers strive towards a finals appearance.