LAMBERT LEGACY: After three premierships and 135 games in the yellow and black, Kane Lambert has hung up the boots due to an ongoing chronic hip injury.
(AFL PHOTOS)
TRIPLE-premiership Tiger, Kane Lambert has called time on his amazing career after 135 games due to being plagued by injury in recent times.
He has played just seven games this season, but they have all been wins which highlights how much he brings to the Richmond structure.
The 30-year-old was a huge part of the Tigers’ dynasty and played a very important role in the success the club has seen in the past five years.
He addressed the playing group on Monday and detailed some of the struggles he had faced in the last few years and thanked his partner, Abbey Gelmi for her support through the tough times.
“The condition of my hip has deteriorated and is worsening … you’ve seen me in agony, you’ve seen me not being able to sleep, not being able to walk around the block,” Lambert said.
“I’m in slides because I can’t tie my shoelaces unless you do it for me.”
Lambert admitted that he was up against the chronic injury from the very start of the season and felt his body could no longer perform at the elite level.
“I remember sitting just before the start of the season with Dimma (Damien Hardwick) and said I don’t know if I’m going to play again … but I’m up for the fight,” he said.
“I made a promise to myself that I would continue to do that (fight through injury) as long as I felt like I could contribute at a level that I felt was fair.
“For our playing group, for our coaches and ultimately our supporter group, unfortunately I’m not in that condition anymore to play on the weekends.”
He praised Hardwick for giving him the opportunity to excel at the level and rewarding the copious amounts of hard work he had put in over a long period of time.
“I knew I had a coach that wasn’t going to expect me to be the most talented, most skilful, the fastest, the strongest but I knew I could work the hardest,” Lambert said.
“I think we’re going to thank you for teaching us that football is just a game.”
If you are looking for a story about hard work, dedication and resilience, look no further than Kane Lambert.
The mid-forward was not only turned away at six drafts but faced adversity through sustaining many injuries during his time at the club and finishes his remarkable career having tasted the ultimate premiership success three times in the yellow and black.
With adversity comes the doubters, those people who told him that he wouldn’t make, but he showed his true colours through persistence.
“When you’re a 23-year-old mature aged rookie, I think 900 picks before an opportunity, five or six failed drafts, it becomes pretty clear that there’s a lot of people who didn’t believe in me,” he said.
“My purpose has never been to prove anyone wrong … my purpose has been to prove people right, prove to people who believed in me, cared in me, and gave me their time and effort.”
Overlooked in the draft
After taking out the Northern Knights club best and fairest in the 2009 TAC Cup which was his draft year, he was overlooked in national, pre-season and rookie drafts at the conclusion of the season before deciding to have a year off football.
Lambert always had the belief and hunger to play at the top level and taste the ultimate success and started his quest when he returned through the VFL in 2011 for Northern Bullants.
After a couple of seasons at the level going undrafted time and time again, he had a breakout season in the VFL which saw him place fourth in the J.J Liston trophy, won his club best and fairest, was named the VFL’s most promising young player and was on the wing in the team of the year.
The result was the same as any other and was deflating for Lambert who could’ve been forgiven for thinking his dream would never turn into a reality.
After making the move to Williamstown for the 2014 season, he again was among the best putting up some huge numbers, a standout game came in his side’s semi-final victory over Werribee where he put up video-game numbers.
He recorded 32 disposals, 17 clearances, 15 inside 50’s and four goals in the team’s win, he was again in AFL draft contention, but overlooked in the national and pre-season drafts.
Drafted to Tigerland
The time had finally come when Kane Lambert heard his name called out in a draft as Richmond Tigers took the 23-year-old with pick 46 in the 2015 rookie draft.
It didn’t take him long to be elevated into the senior side after some strong pre-season performances and despite a significant shoulder injury, by the end of the 2015 season, he was in Richmond’s weekly side.
Due to a rib injury which disrupted his continuity in 2016, Lambert found himself in and out of the VFL side and despite starting the season with some team-high performances, he played 15 games for the year.
It was 2017 where the magic began for him as he became reliable to cash in and hit the scoreboard on most occasions kicking bags of three goals on occasions.
Premiership glory
The back end of 2017 gave Lambert the chance to experience buzz of energy like no other, finals footy.
Ticking off his 50-game milestone in the qualifying final win against Geelong was the biggest win of his career to date, before that changed to the following week’s preliminary final win against GWS Giants.
Sitting behind the goals as he kicked the first goal of the game will forever be one of my favourite football memories, “Wastes no time, Cotchin down in the Riewoldt direction, couldn’t mark, Martin brilliant roving, handball over the top, Lambert, how’s that start from the Tigers,” was the commentary of the play.
Fast forward a week and just like that, in his 53rd game of AFL football, Kane Lambert was etched into the history books as a premiership player for Richmond in the club’s first flag in 37 years.
He was rewarded for his impressive season finishing third in the club’s best and fairest in the premiership season.
GLORY: Kane Lambert celebrates with teammates after the 2019 grand final which saw the Tiges dominate GWS Giants by 89 points.
(FOX SPORTS)
Success marred by injuries
The cruel injuries began to come but the livewire forward continued to perform well venturing up the ground and damaged opponents with his two-way gut running.
His consistency was key to the on-field success the team had before a chance at a back-to-back flag was ripped away from him in the 2018 preliminary final loss to Collingwood.
He became renowned as one of the most underrated and most important players in order for his side to implement its game plan the way it wanted.
Two minor injuries (ankle and knee) only saw him miss two games during the 2018 season which he capped off with 12 Brownlow votes and the Jack Titus Medal (second in club best and fairest) – Lambert was also selected in the 40-man All-Australian squad.
As the 2019 season started, you could bank on 30 and a goal from him each week before he was struck down with achilles tendinopathy which sidelined him for six weeks.
He got back towards the second half of the season to be a key member in the 89-point obliteration of the Giants in the grand final – handing him his second flag as he finished the year with a career-high 18 goals.
Despite COVID-19, the success kept coming for Lambert and his team as the Tiges were again a force to be reckoned with, going all the way to win his third premiership in four seasons against Geelong.
The 2021 season was his toughest in the AFL system, just managing to get his body right for 13 games as his club slumped to miss finals.
Lambert said in his retirement speech that he had heard experts tell him “You have the hip of a 65-year-old, and we don’t know how you’re doing it.”
Retirement
After seven years in the AFL system and three premierships, Kane Lambert called time on his career on Monday explaining to his teammates, family, friends and coaches the toll that his chronic hip injury had on not only his football, but his everyday life.
Great round up of Kane’s career. Nice to read an article that isn’t just a summarised headline.