Tivendale's Tiger days over

RICHMOND veteran Greg Tivendale will play his last game for the Tigers against Melbourne on Sunday.

But the 187-gamer has hopes of continuing his career with another club next year.

“I’d like to think that people would think of me as a good servant of the Richmond Football Club and a good quality player that has done his best for Richmond,” Tivendale said.

"My form has been pretty good this year, so I’m not going to cancel out a chance of going on next year. I’ll put my hat in the ring and see what happens.”

Of the current playing group only Joel Bowden and Matthew Richardson have been at Punt Rd longer and played more games for the club than Tivendale.

Richardson paid tribute to his durable teammate who played 135 games in a row from 1999 to 2005.

“Greg has been magnificent for this club over the past decade and he has served as an outstanding role model for the younger players,” Richardson said.

“We have been at the club a long time together and I have really valued the friendship and support Greg has shown me over the last 10 years.” Richardson said.

Tivendale arrived at the Tigers from the Gippsland Power in 1998 and fought his way up from the rookie list to become a valuable part of the Richmond midfield.

Richmond coach Terry Wallace said the departing Tiger had set an example to players who had to start from the bottom of the heap to carve out an AFL career.

“Greg has been one of the big success stories of the AFL rookie system and his leadership and dedication over the years has been second to none."

Greg Tivendale
AFL debut: 1998
187 games
124 goals
3rd in Richmond best and fairest, 2003
Recruited from: Gippsland Power.