Richmond’s VFL Side Won Four Games. What Must the Seconds Actually Develop in 2027?

Richmond’s VFL side won four of 18 games in 2026 and finished 21st. For a standalone football club, that ladder position would almost write the verdict. For Richmond’s second team, the question is more complicated.

The VFL side exists inside an AFL rebuild. Its best players can be promoted, young footballers can be left in uncomfortable roles because development matters more than the next result, and rehabilitation minutes or AFL needs can reshape the team from week to week. That makes four wins a poor answer to a much more useful question.

What should Richmond’s VFL environment actually be producing? How much losing can still be developmental, what must young players learn about winning habits, and how should the club judge Jack Madgen’s program if the ladder is neither irrelevant nor the whole point?

The full member feature tests what Richmond’s seconds are for, what 2026 may have taught the club, and what has to be visibly different in 2027 if the VFL program is genuinely accelerating the rebuild.

Read the full RTSSG investigation: Jack Madgen’s VFL Side Won Four Games in 2026. How Does Richmond Make Losing More Developmental in 2027?

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