AFL 2024: Jayden Short returns but Richmond won’t risk Dion Prestia

Richmond coach Adem Yze says the Tigers will give extra time to their returning stars as he said an opponent would be “kicking themselves”.

Jayden Short is set to return from a calf strain in Richmond’s Sunday afternoon clash against Fremantle at the MCG. Picture: Quinn Rooney / Getty Images

Richmond coach Adem Yze says the Tigers will receive a major lift from the return of vice-captain Jayden Short but will not rush to recall a host of returning stars.

Dion Prestia (hamstring) and Noah Balta (knee) are both in the frame to face the Western Bulldogs in round 9 but Yze said it was too early in the season to be risking key players.

The coach said last month he regretted picking Prestia to face Carlton off a five-day break in round 1 given his injury history, and on Friday noted Port Adelaide “would be kicking themselves” after picking hamstrung captain Connor Rozee for its Showdown defeat.

He said senior midfielder Jack Graham could have faced Fremantle on Sunday, but was not worth risking as he managed his own hamstring complaint.

“That’s what we don’t want to happen … our players are too important, (the Power) obviously made a decision on Rozee (Thursday) night but and they’re probably kicking themselves today on that decision,” Yze said.

Champion Richmond midfielder Dion Prestia could return from a hamstring injury next week after he trained fully at Punt Road on Friday. Picture: Darrian Traynor / Getty Images

“If this was a final, there’s a chance that (Graham) could play, but he’s just too important.

“To go and risk one of our key leaders and a really important player in our footy club and in our team … the chance of him hurting it again and going out for a month would just be crazy, irrelevant of how many guys we’ve got injured at the moment.”

Short trained fully without any strapping on his injured calf at Punt Road on Friday along with Prestia, while Tom Lynch joined in the warm-up as he works towards a return from a hamstring tendon injury in the second half of the season.

“There was a possibility that (Short) could have got up or even played last week, so we went with no-risk – he’s too important, we took the week,” Yze said before Friday’s session.

Jayden Short (pictured) will return for the Tigers against Fremantle at the MCG on Sunday, but Jack Graham is out due to a minor hamstring issue. Picture: Darrian Traynor / Getty Images

“He’s had a great week on the track and hopefully gets through today and he’ll play.

“He’s a spirit lifter for our footy club and our team. So to have a leader, he’s a vice-captain, a terrific halfback, to be back in our side – we really missed him last week.

“We love his drive off halfback. So to get some good news around the injury front is good for not only us as a club, but our team.”

Without Lynch and Balta the Tigers have struggled to produce a competitive score, but Yze said they remained committed to playing attacking, exciting football regardless of personnel or facing strong opposition.

“We have no issue with wanting to play an aggressive brand of footy … we have a go, we want to win the ball back really quickly and take the game on,” he said.

“We want to play an exciting brand of footy on offence, so we want to bring that out on Sunday.”

Originally published as AFL 2024: Jayden Short returns but Richmond won’t risk Dion Prestia