Dylan Grimes (born 16 July 1991) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a three-time premiership player with the club, winning in 2017, 2019 and 2020. In 2019 he was selected in the All-Australian team and was the recipient of the AFL Players Association's Robert Rose Most Courageous Player Award. Grimes was announced as co-captain alongside Toby Nankervis ahead of the 2022 season.
Early life and junior football Grimes grew up on a hobby farm in Panton Hill, 32 kilometres north-east of Melbourne. He played junior football at Hurstbridge in the Northern Football League before playing TAC Cup football with the Northern Knights in 2009. He was educated at Diamond Valley College and Loyola College
Grimes went un-drafted in the 2009 AFL National draft despite assurances from and that they would select him with third and final round picks, respectively. He was offered the chance to train with Richmond in the following weeks with the expectation that the club would officially select him in the December pre-season draft.
AFL career 2010 season Grimes was drafted by with the club's first pick and the second selection overall in the 2010 AFL Pre-Season Draft.
He played the majority of his first season at reserves level with Richmond's VFL affiliate team, Coburg. Included in that year were multiple games with Coburg's reserves team, a full two levels below AFL football. Overall his footballing was minimal that year, with an eye injury keeping him from playing most of the season. Grimes eventually made his AFL debut late in 2010, in round 22 against Port Adelaide at Docklands Stadium.
2011 season In 2011 Grimes again started the season playing reserves grade football, this time for the first two matches of the season. However, when fellow defenders Alex Rance and Luke McGuane were ruled out due to suspension in round 3, Grimes was called to take a key defensive role in the Richmond AFL side. In his first match of the season and just his second career match, he recorded 15 spoils, equaling an AFL record at the time. After five rounds he held an average of 13 spoils per game, and the number one ranking in the league. He played in the next four consecutive matches before a severe hamstring injury sustained in round 9's Dreamtime at the 'G match saw Grimes sidelined for the remainer of the 2011 season. At year's end he had played a total of seven matches and held averages of 12.6 disposals and 3.8 marks per game.
2012 season Grimes returned to football fully fit in 2012, playing in the club's round 1 match against at the MCG. He earned an AFL Rising Star award nomination in round 3, for an 18 disposal and nine mark performance against . In round 7 he recorded three career-highs with 13 marks, 24 disposals and six rebound 50s in a match against . Grimes again suffered a major hamstring injury in the club's round 8 Dreamtime match against . He missed five weeks of football to rehabilitate the injury, before returning in round 14 to face at AAMI Stadium. Despite recording a team-best 10 marks in the match, Grimes re-aggravated the injury and required further treatment as a result. He traveled to Germany soon after to be treated by renowned soft tissue expert Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt. Part of his treatment involved injections of calf blood extract actovegin directly into the affected muscle together with 200 injections into his lower back over the course of a single week. He did not return to senior football that season, finishing his season with just nine matches played.
2013 season
The 2013 pre-season started ominously for Grimes, with the defender failing to travel to the team's pre-season camp in Cairns on account of soreness in his left leg. Later revealed to be a small split in his hamstring tendon, he would again require surgery to repair the damage. Days later he was added to the club's leadership group, serving under newly appointed captain Trent Cotchin. Grimes played his first match of the season in round 2 against at the MCG. He played in five consecutive matches before sustaining a foot fracture in round 6 against . After 15 weeks on the sidelines, Grimes returned to AFL football in round 21. He remained in the side for the final three matches of the home and away season before playing in his first career final, a losing elimination final against at the MCG.
2014 season Entering 2014 Grimes has shed three kilograms of body mass, adjusting for a change in role from key defender to small defender. Grimes was also left out of the club's leadership group that season. His first match of the season came in the club's re-match with the previous year's finals opponent Carlton, in round 2, 2014 at the MCG. He remained in the club's senior team for the following four matches before being omitted from the side ahead of round 7. Grimes returned to senior football in round 10. He missed a single match in round 12 with a toe injury but otherwise played in every remaining match that season as well as in another elimination final. At season's end he had played a career-best 19 games and placed 11th in the club's best and fairest award.
2015 season Grimes spent part of the 2014/15 pre-season looking for a mental edge, reading extensively about mindfulness in competitive sport and serving as the catalyst for the introduction of a meditation program which when fully implemented two years later would become a key component of the club's success. He completed that pre-season injury free and entered round 1 playing as Richmond's third tall defender. By round 3 he had re-injured his hamstring, sitting out three weeks of football at AFL level as a result. He returned in round 6 against , and this time stayed in the side for 13 consecutive matches. Grimes was subbed out at half time of Richmond's round 19 match with , after suffering a minor hamstring strain earlier in the match. He would miss two matches as a result, before returning in round 22 against at the MCG. At season's end he had played in 18 matches including a losing elimination final. He placed equal ninth in the club's best and fairest award that year, polling votes in 17 of his 18 matches that season.
2016 season By the beginning of 2016 Grimes had established himself as a key member of the club's defensive unit. For the second straight season he would play in rounds 1 and 2 before a hamstring injury would keep him out of round 3 action. What was forecast as a two-week injury turned into a five-week one however, as he did not return to senior football until round 8's match against . After playing in three consecutive matches Grimes was a late out in round 11, pulling up poorly in the pre-game warm up and causing a late change as a result. The effects were minor however and he would play without trouble the following week. In fact, he played in each of the club's final 11 matches of the season and recorded double digit disposals in all matches and an average of 4.5 marks over the period. Grimes also recorded a career high eight tackles in round 16 against the . He placed equal seventh in the club's best and fairest count in what was his best career season to that point.
2017 season
For the first time in his career, 2017 saw Grimes enter the season injury-free after also having a full and uninterrupted pre-season. He played a key role in the club's round 2 win over Collingwood, blanketing small forward opponent Alex Fasolo and keeping him goalless. Grimes was one of the club's best in round 5 too, recording an equal team-high seven tackles along with six intercepts and eight one percenters and earning himself two votes in the Coaches Association's Player of the Year award. Between rounds 10 and 15 he did not concede a single goal on his direct opponent, a figure that helped contribute to Champion Data ranking Richmond's defence as the fourth best in the competition after 14 rounds. In July Grimes' season was described by The Age'''s Michael Gleeson as "the best and most consistent" of his career. He finished the home and away season having played all 22 matches for the first time in his career while Richmond qualified for the finals double chance for the first time in 16 years. Grimes and the Richmond defence held Geelong to just five goals in the qualifying final before dispatching of the GWS Giants in a home preliminary final to earn a grand final berth. There they faced the minor premiers , who boasted the most effective forward line in the competition that season. It was Grimes' club who would win the day however, as he nullified the Crows' Eddie Betts and became a premiership player in his 104th career match. He was later named in the back pocket in the AFL Media Team of the Finals. He finished the year having recorded the league's sixth best defensive rating among players classed as general defenders and winning the sixth best percentage of defensive one-on-one contests (43 per cent). In Richmond's end of season awards he received the Francis Bourke award as selected by his teammates for most embodying the qualities of awareness, unitedness, relentless and discipline. Grimes was also awarded the Kevin Bartlett medal for a fifth-placed finish in Richmond's best and fairest award and placed third and fourth at the club for one-percenters and intercept possessions respectively.
2018 season On the back of his premiership year, Grimes earned a new three-year contract extension, seeing him secured to Richmond until at least the end of the 2021 season. He had another uninterrupted pre-season, spent mostly working on the offensive side of his game, hoping to contribute more in rebounding out of defensive 50. This did not necessarily carry into the season however, with Grimes' offensive output minimal in the season's early stages. His defensive work was strong though, earning particular praise for a goal-saving effort in round 4 that helped keep the to a club-record low score for any match against Richmond. Grimes suffered a bruised back in that match but was largely unaffected by the injury in coming weeks, including when he earned two votes in the Coaches Association's award for a round 7 performance against that included 15 disposals, six marks and eight intercepts. He remained in the side for a further two weeks through to round 9's loss to , where he suffered another knock to the back that eventually saw him a late injury omission in round 10.