Richmond forward Jack Riewoldt will retire from the AFL this weekend after 17 seasons and three premierships with the Tigers.

The 34-year-old told teammates this morning of his decision, and will play one more game against North Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.

Tigers chief Brendan Gale said it would be a week of celebration at the club as Riewoldt and former skipper Trent Cotchin — who has already announced his retirement — would play a final game together at the MCG.

Flanked by his family, carrying his daughter Poppy in his arms, and with teammates watching on at Punt Road, Riewoldt reflected on his career and time at the club.

"I'm forever grateful and thankful for everybody who has invested in me … all the way back to when I went to school and had my first football in my hands, to the club who have shown so much care and support over the last three days," he said, thanking the Tigers for helping to set up his announcement.

Riewoldt said he had made a conscious effort in what proved to be his final season to take time to run out with his teammates Cotchin and Dustin Martin, who had been with the club for the majority of his time at Tigerland.

"It's meant a lot to me personally. It's a little bit of an end of an era," he said, referring to his and Cotchin's imminent retirement.

"It seems like yesterday we were sitting on the front porch of (Cotchin's family's) beach house at Moama, having a VB at 19 years old," he added, referring to how far they both had come as friends and teammates.

"There's only been 1,100 or so people who've played for this great club, and I've been lucky enough to been one of them."

He cited the three premierships as among his fondest memories at Richmond, but said he was proudest of being part of a team that had built a culture that had been copied elsewhere.  

As he prepared to say goodbye to playing for the Tigers, Riewoldt said he saw parallels with 2016 — the year before Richmond broke a 37-year premiership drought with a win over Adelaide.

"We haven't had the year we hoped for (in 2023)," he said, adding that there was some exciting young talent at Richmond, some of whom had not even been seen at AFL level yet.

"We know (from 2016/2017) that we can bounce back pretty quickly from a difficult position, and I look forward to having a front row seat for that (as a fan)."

Riewoldt is 13th on the all-time list of AFL/VFL goal kickers, with 786 goals from 346 games.

A skilled and wholehearted performer, Riewoldt made his debut in 2007 after being drafted at pick 13 in the 2006 AFL Draft.

He has been involved in controversy, famously jumping a fence at Punt Road Oval before running to Richmond train station to escape journalists and TV crews after he spoke out, in 2014, criticising the team's game plan.

But as he nears the end of his 17th season, the star forward has made his place in Richmond history as a crucial part of the team's three premierships in four years between 2017 and 2020.