Richmond, Damien Hardwick, Marlion Pickett and Dustin Martin are remarkable proof of how dramatically fortunes can change in the AFL.
After taking over Swan Street on Saturday night, tens of thousands of Tigers fans will reconvene at the club’s Punt Rd headquarters on Sunday to continue the premiership celebrations.
Saturday’s 89-point grand final thrashing of GWS is their second flag in three years, confirming Richmond as the latest AFL dynasty.
With Alex Rance and Sydney Stack also returning from injury next season, Tiger time will continue.
But just three years ago, Richmond were in crisis and Hardwick looked closer to being sacked than guiding his side to a premiership when they dropped out of the top eight.
Hardwick went to Harvard for a leadership course, Neil Balme was brought in as football manager and within a year, the Tigers had broken their premiership drought.
Hardwick now joins his great friend Alastair Clarkson as the only current AFL coaches with multiple flags.
Just four months ago, Picket needed surgery on a finger injury and his hopes of being drafted to an AFL club looked shot again.
But Richmond went with Pickett in the mid-season draft and the 27-year-old father of four, who did jail time as a teenager, has already repaid their faith.
He became only the sixth AFL player to debut in a grand final and Pickett looked like a poised veteran, even earning Norm Smith Medal votes.
Which brings us to Martin, now the only AFL player to win two Norm Smith Medals, play in two premiership teams and win a Brownlow Medal.
It is less than four years since Martin was in trouble for an altercation with a fellow restaurant patron – an incident that became known as chopstick-gate.
Whatever happened at the restaurant, Martin later said it made him pull his head in a bit.
His best-afield performance in Saturday’s grand final again showed how well that has worked.
And so on Saturday night, Martin was second in line behind his captain and friend Trent Cotchin as the Tigers conga-lined their way off the MCG and onto the club celebrations.