AFL: Richmond coach Adem Yze on future of premiership pair Dion Prestia and Tom Lynch

Richmond is confident a pair of premiership players will see out the rest of their careers as Tigers despite looming free agency.

Richmond is confident premiership players Dion Prestia and Tom Lynch will see out the rest of their careers as Tigers despite looming free agency.

Both Prestia and Lynch, who played key roles in Richmond’s golden era, are both set to become unrestricted free agents at season’s end.

Prestia crossed from Gold Coast via trade while Lynch joined the Tigers through free agency.

Lynch, despite his recent run of injuries, is regularly raised as a target for teams in the premiership window.

But Richmond coach Adem Yze showed no concern about the out-of-contract pair, saying “they’re so invested in our footy club”.

Richmond is confident a pair of premiership players will see out the rest of their careers as Tigers despite looming free agency. Picture: Mark Stewart

“If you were sitting upstairs or within our four walls, the amount of work Dion has been putting into our midfield group and stoppage, he’s almost a coach while he’s been in rehab,” he said.

“They’ve both been so invested in our footy club and I have spoken about this before, other clubs are searching for premiership experience to bring into their footy club, we’ve already got that.

“All I know is they’re so invested in our footy club right now and we hope they’re here for a few more years.”

Lynch was substituted out of Sunday’s loss to Fremantle but is fit to play against his former side this weekend.

Prestia, meanwhile, is still at least a month away as he recovers from his latest soft-tissue setback.

The Tigers are taking a measured approach with the best-and-fairest ball-winner to ensure he returns for good.

“We’ve just got to be really cautious with it, with Dion he’s such a good player and we’re so anxious to get him back in as quick as we can knowing the player and the leader he is,” Yze said.

“We’ve just set a new plan, Ben Serpell is our new fitness advisor and head of performance and he’s set a really strong plan for when he comes back.

“We want him to be back for the rest of the year, not going in and out, pulling up sore, so we’ve set up a plan, he needs to get a volume of training in before he can be available.

“I think it’s a measured approach and the right one.”