Usually when AFL premiers look for improvement, it comes from their young guns.
But not at Richmond.
The Tigers confront Collingwood on Friday night, hoping to win a place in their second straight grand final and replicate their success in 2017.
And at the heart of Richmond’s consolidation as an AFL powerhouse have been the two longest serving players on their list.
Jack Riewoldt, drafted in 2006, won the Coleman Medal.
He’s set up more goals than last season, kicked more goals himself, taken more marks inside 50, and he’s performed more one percenters in 2018 than any of his 12 seasons.
Shane Edwards is the only other Tiger that can match Riewoldt for service.
And he too has been in sparkling form, a contribution rewarded with the first All Australian selection of this career.
He’s played every game of Richmond’s season and has set career-high benchmarks for disposals and inside-50s.
His performance against Essendon in the ‘Dreamtime at the G’ match was possibly his best match in yellow and black and it was rightly rewarded with the Yiooken Award for best on ground.
The modest 29-year-old said his improvement was due to consistency.
“A good quarter here or there … I’ve probably played them in other seasons,” he said.
“Putting together good halves has been my focus this year and that’s how it’s panned out.”
Edwards agreed this has been the best season of his career, but not because of his stats sheet.
“Everything we do here is based on team success, and that’s what we’ve had so far,” he said.