Dual premiership winning Richmond star to be reunited with his grand final medals after police sting locates them almost two years after they were stolen

Richmond Tigers star Shai Bolton is set to be reunited with his AFL premiership medals almost two years after they were stolen from his home.

Police seized the premiership medals after raiding a Seaford property while investigating a spree of burglaries in Melbourne’s southeast.

The medals, from 2019 and 2020, were stolen from Bolton’s home in Malvern on December 18, 2022.

The footy star was away from home in Western Australia when the theft took place.

‘It is very saddening to have items as cherished as my premiership medals taken this way,’ Bolton said after the event.

‘If anyone has any information about where they could be or that could help towards them being returned, it would mean a lot to me and my family.’

A 36-year-old Seaford man was arrested on Tuesday and has been charged with 104 offences, including 29 counts of criminal damage, 29 counts of burglary, and 17 of theft.

‘Given the sentimental value attached to these medals, we were extremely pleased to uncover them during our search warrant today,’ Detective Sergeant Grant Lewis said.

The premiership medals were recovered after police raided a home in Seaford

‘We look forward to reuniting the medals with their rightful owner, given the significance winning a flag would hold for both him and his family.

‘This morning’s warrant was the culmination of a police investigation into an alleged burglary spree across south-east Melbourne, where over 30 businesses were also targeted.’

The medals’ authenticity was verified at AFL House on Tuesday afternoon. 

AFL Spokesperson Jay Allen thanked the police for finding the cherished items.

‘An AFL Premiership medal is one of the most cherished awards in our game and we know how devasted Shai was when they were stolen,’ he said.

Bolton will soon be reunited again with his cherished premiership medals

‘On behalf of everyone at the AFL and the Richmond Football Club, we thank the Victoria Police for locating his 2019 and 2020 medals and look forward to getting them back to Shai shortly.’

Bolton is not the only premiership winner to be deprived of his medal. Western Bulldogs legend Easton Wood – who led the club to the 2016 flag – had his medal stolen from his home in Albert Park in April 2020.

That break-in also occurred while Wood was away from home and he had his premiership watch, a drone and a World War 1 service identification tag stolen.

He had been planning on gifting the medal to his newborn daughter, Matilda.