RICHMOND veteran Chris Newman is hoping for a fairytale finish to his career.
The 33-year-old announced this week he will retire at end of the current campaign and while he remains focused on making the finals first and foremost, he has allowed himself to dream of ending his career as a Tigers' premiership player.
"Well, you've always got to allow for it," Newman said on Wednesday.
"It's what every player wants to do, they want to play in a premiership."
"We've got a proud history with a lot of players who have done that.
"Although we've only got three weeks left in the season, it feels like we've got a lot of improvement left and a long way to go to even be in the mix to win a flag this year."
Richmond is in sixth spot with 12 wins, but Newman is understandably reluctant to assume the team will make the finals given he played 232 games before experiencing finals football.
Even then, he had to endure further disappointment when the Tigers fell at the elimination final stage of each of the past two seasons.
However, he's confident both he and his teammates are better for the experience.
"The past is past and I'm just really confident in this group," he said.
"We've played very well against the best (teams) this year (but) we've also played some pretty ordinary footy, so we've got to get the balance right.
"Hopefully, we can have a good game this week (against Collingwood) and really finish off strong."
Newman announced his retirement with three games left to play because he was experiencing growing anxiety about his impending departure from Punt Road.
He says at times this season, he has felt like the game had moved past him a bit and while he remains confident he can still play a role for the team, he's comfortable the time is right to walk away.
