AFL 2022: Richmond coach Damien Hardwick reveals when Dustin Martin could be back

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has revealed whether superstar Dustin Martin is up for selection after returning to training.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says the Tigers must ‘pick up the pieces’. Picture: Aaron Francis / Herald Sun

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick was noncommittal about the prospect of Dustin Martin returning for the side’s must-win clash against West Coast in Perth on Friday night after a surprise return to training on Saturday after a month‘s leave for personal issues.

Hardwick said it was “nice” to see Martin back at the club and the playing group got a boost from his impromptu visit as rumours swirled about the 30-year-old’s future while his break from the game lengthened.

But while the triple Norm Smith medallist’s training return stoked the mood at Punt Road, Hardwick was noncommittal about the prospect of Martin returning to face the Eagles after the Tigers fell to 12th on the ladder following Sunday’s loss to Melbourne, their fourth in the opening six games of the season.

“I can’t tell you. I’m not sure,” Hardwick said following Richmond’s 22-point loss to Melbourne on Sunday night.

“Once we know, you’ll know.”

While Martin’s status for the trip across the Nullarbor remains unclear, Hardwick was hopeful that Kane Lambert would be fit to play his first game of the year after overcoming a hip injury.

“We’ll try to get him through training and see how he goes,” Hardwick said.

Teammates and staff 'had NO IDEA' Dustin Martin was returning to Richmond after taking indefinite break from the game to grieve for his dad https://t.co/YMZwgQcvYEpic.twitter.com/u3TB0yBkhl

— Tande (@tanndde) April 24, 2022

“He just didn’t quite feel comfortable enough, and didn’t look comfortable enough, last week and he had a block of training, I think he’ll have a run-around tomorrow and try and prove his fitness.

“We’ve got a very short session planned so we’ve got to make a call one way or the other pretty early.”

Youngster Thomson Dow will almost certainly fail to make the trip to WA after suffering a cork for the second week in a row in the same spot in his thigh.

Hardwick said it was important that the Tigers “pick up the pieces and move on” following their most recent loss which left their season teetering precariously at 2-4.

The Tigers look dejected after losing to Melbourne. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

The triple premiership coach said the Demons taught his “gun-shy” side a lesson around the contest.

“Sometimes we’ve got an uncanny ability to lose a contest when we have superior numbers,” Hardwick said.

The Tigers lost the free kick count again 26-18, and Hardwick said his players needed to improve their tackling technique.

“We gave away too many (sic) head-high stuff, I think inside 50 it was one free kick to us and seven (in our) D50 which takes away the pressure straight away,” he said.

“Our technique in those contests is poor, we’ve certainly got to improve on it and we’ve got to get better at it because I think you’ll probably find the vast majority were probably there, we’ve just got to make sure we eradicate as many as we can.”