Richmond CEO Shane Dunne has put to bed any rumours about Adem Yze potentially vacating the head coaching role at Tiger Land, confirming on Wednesday that Yze is indeed the man for the job long term.
Despite a disappointing season that could see the Tigers finish second last on the ladder, Dunne has revealed that he’s rapt with the development he’s seen from Yze and some of the clubs' younger players.
“I see Adam as our long term coach,” Dunne told SEN on Wednesday morning.
“We’re seeing everything that we’d like to see from Adam and he’s continuing to grow into the role. We’re delighted with his performance so far.”
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The Tigers have won only three games this season and appear headed for a tough month ahead with superstar forward Tom Lynch set to miss the next four games due to suspension.
With winnable fixtures against Essendon and West Coast ahead over the next fortnight however, the Tigers could elevate themselves away from a potential wooden spoon with Premiership-winning defender Nick Vlaustin also celebrating his 250th game this weekend.
“It's the way that you communicate to the group, you set a game plan, and you lead your coaching group to execute a game plan that is ultimately going to see us win,” Dunne said when asked about what he’s been looking for from Yze this season.
“We’re taking a long term view and while we want to win each and every week, we’ve also got an eye on the future.”
With the likes of Michael Voss firmly on the hot seat at Carlton, Yze’s contract extension remains another story to watch with his first deal set to expire at the end of the 2026 season.
Dunne wouldn’t elaborate on when he expects an extension to be signed, but he did say the club would pull the trigger when they feel the time is right.
“Adam’s half way into his first contract, so it’s probably a little premature to lock in a new contract straight away. But certainly that’s something that we continue to evaluate. We give Adam feedback regularly, and he continues to grow and make this role his own. So we’re delighted with the way Adam is going, no doubt we’ll continue to evaluate that over the coming weeks and months,” Dunne said.