Richmond part ways with AFLW coach, head of football following extensive program-wide review

Richmond has walked out AFLW coach Ryan Ferguson only months after he signed a contract for the 2026 season, after a full-scale review of its women's program.

The Tigers made significant changes following an extensive assessment led by former Carlton football boss Brad Lloyd, ultimately leading to the departure of Ferguson and head of football Kate Sheahan.

Following a poor 2025 season where the Tigers finished 16th following two wins, the club commissioned a review of the structure and governance, culture and leadership, coaching and player development, high performance and medical support, recruitment and list strategy.

Consultation from the playing group and the staff led a deep analysis into the program, which CEO Shane Dunne said could not be ignored.

"We could not ignore our on-field results in 2025. Ultimately, this is about building a program that gives our female athletes the best chance of success," Dunne said.

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"Ryan is a good football person and has been a valued part of the Richmond Football Club for more than a decade across our AFL, AFLW and VFL programs.

"Ultimately, the decision was made that we needed a different voice, and we will now commence the search to find the best possible senior coach for our AFLW team.

"As Executive Head of Women's Football, Kate Sheahan has done a huge amount of work building our AFLW program from the ground up, and we thank her for her dedication and commitment."

The Tigers will also undertake the following decisions:

• Develop a new AFLW Performance Strategy that defines how we will close the gap and consistently compete in finals.
• Re-structure the high-performance and medical functions to drive standards and create better alignment and clearer accountabilities.
• Increase its investment in leadership training for the player leadership group to more effectively drive agreed values and behaviours.
• Re-define list build principles to align with the future game model.
• Appoint a full-time AFLW Operations & Scheduling Manager to centralise communications and accountability.

Dunne says, following the review, that the club has "established a clear direction" preparing for the 2026 season.