Jake Batchelor to coach Richmond VFL

Richmond is pleased to announce that former player Jake Batchelor has been appointed the Club’s new VFL senior coach.

Batchelor replaces Steve Morris in the role, who will take up an assistant coaching position with the AFL program.

The 32-year-old returns to the Swinburne Centre after seven years, having spent one year at Frankston VFL as a playing assistant coach before moving to St Kilda.

Batchelor was at St Kilda for six years, playing a key development role in the Saints’ coaching setup.

The former 84-game Tiger was appointed as senior coach of the Saints’ aligned Sandringham Zebras VFL team in October 2020, a role he has held for the past four seasons.

Batchelor said it was “very exciting” to be back at Richmond.

“The place is the same, but there are plenty of new faces,” he said.

“That is the exciting part… building new relationships and being able to create something together is what I am really looking forward to.

“I love the idea of being able to help and contribute to the start of a new journey with lots of young players coming through and seeing how far we can progress as a Club.”

Richmond General Manager- Football Performance Tim Livingstone said that Batchelor, who arrives with 63 games of senior coaching experience and a proven track record in development, was a perfect fit for the role.

“Jake has a passion for working with athletes to challenge, motivate, and inspire them to reach their potential,” he added.

“He is a young, energetic, and relatable coach with excellent game knowledge and of course also a great person.

“We are thrilled to be welcoming Jake back to Richmond.”

Morris departs the VFL coaching role after an impressive three years in charge.

The former VFL premiership winning captain and AFL player, won 31 of his 54 games at the helm and qualified for the Wildcard Finals Round in consecutive campaigns.

Morris’ 10-8 record in 2024 was particularly impressive, given the team used 55 players across the season, due in part to the flow-on effect of availability restrictions at the AFL level.

“Steve has done a great job with our VFL program across a number of years and stepping into the role as an AFL assistant coach will be another great step for his coaching development,” Livingstone added.

“As a captain and coach, his contribution to the VFL set-up has been profound.”