ROUND ONE of the 2025 AFL season saw a dream fulfilled. Sam Lalor, the first overall pick in the 2024 national draft, made his debut for Richmond in front of a crowd of more than 80,000 at the MCG. It’s the kind of situation every young footballer hopes to one day experience for themselves. Few of us get to live that dream. Lalor made his mark – kicking two goals, helping Richmond defeat Carlton and earning the first Rising Star nomination of the season. The then-18-year-old even drew comparisons to Richmond legend Dustin Martin.
Except, not everything went exactly as Lalor had planned.
While celebrating his second goal of the night, Lalor was the subject of an unfortunate, below the belt wardrobe malfunction, essentially exposing himself to the crowd – a reminder, there were more than 80,000 fans in attendance. It’s the kind of thing that only happens in your worst nightmares. And despite Lalor’s insistence that he “didn’t actually mind it that much, really,” we contend that this is just about the most embarrassing thing a human can experience.
Taking it in good spirits, Lalor share a post on Instagram after the game with the caption: “What a night. Thanks @richmond_fc for the opportunity, keen for many more to come,” followed by an eggplant emoji.
The comments were predictable. “Was impressive, good game too x,” said Richmond forward Jacob Bauer. “He was balling,” reads another. “Came out swinging, performed great too Sam,” tallied a few likes. And a personal favourite of ours: “No dicking around here, gotta love it. Performance was nuts, been a length since I’ve seen a game that good. Big difference from getting shafted every week last season.” We could go on.
Men, as a rule, don’t talk about their underwear. But in Lalor’s case, it’s difficult not to broach the subject. How exactly did the incident happen? What sort of low-grade trunks allow your junk to simply slip out? Has he considered going up a size in shorts? Lalor doesn’t have all the answers to those questions, but the incident has ultimately proven fortuitous, with the footballer securing a partnership with underwear brand Step One.
“It worked out for me in the end. I’m loving Step One’s stuff,” Lalor tells Men’s Health. “I wear them every day. They’re really comfortable, good to play footy in, and I’ve managed to get a few of the boys at the club to try them.”
But more to the point, are they more secure? “Yes, definitely,” Lalor laughs. “That was the biggest change I think.” No surprises there, Step One’s men’s range is moisture-wicking, has anti-chafing panels and utilises a 3D pouch for added comfort – and, for Lalor’s peace of mind, security.
In addition to the lowdown on Lalor’s lower down region, the rookie also gave us an assessment of his first year in the AFL. “I’m pretty happy with my rookie season,” he says. “It didn’t end the way I wanted it to, with me getting injured and everything towards the end of the season. But I’m happy with the team, you know, we were still towards the bottom of the ladder, but winning five games this year compared to only one game last year is a big improvement. Hopefully we can keep moving up.”
Looking ahead to next season, Lalor believes the Tigers can be the AFL’s most improved outfit and push for finals footy. “We’ve got so much youth in our side, but our older boys have been so good, too. Some of them are playing the best footy of their careers. We’re going to be on the up at the very least next season. Hopefully we’ll be pushing for finals.”
For Lalor, much of his reasoning for labelling his rookie season a success stems from his ability to adjust to a much heavier workload. “The physical side of it was a huge step up,” he explains. “You go from training once, maybe twice a week to it being your full-time job, and the load is so much bigger than what I was used to. I hadn’t actually done much high-level training before coming to the AFL. So coming in five times a week and doing so much physical activity, it takes it out of you.”
Building mental toughness, too, proved challenging. “It’s such a mentally challenging game,” Lalor says. “There’s a lot of pressure. You’re putting yourself under a fair bit of pressure and having to go out and perform week after week isn’t easy.”
To ensure he enters every game in the right headspace, Lalor makes use of Richmond’s voluntary mindset workshops. “We have a ‘mental mastery’ session every week,” he says. “We do some visualisation or some breathing techniques to cool ourselves down. I use that a fair bit.”
Now that he’s adjusted to life in the big league and has a few new pairs of undies to keep everything secure, the only way for Lalor is up.
