AFL: Richmond poised to regain defender Nick Vlastuin but Kamdyn McIntosh out of Crows clash
The Tigers will welcome back another premiership star for this week’s clash with Adelaide but it’s not all rosy with selection.
Richmond is set to regain premiership defender Nick Vlastuin for Saturday’s road clash with Adelaide, a week after fellow stars Dion Prestia and Jack Riewoldt returned to the side.
But the Tigers will be without winger Kamdyn McIntosh, who has entered the AFL’s health and safety protocols as a close contact of a positive Covid-19 case.
They sit on the fringes of the top eight after dispatching a wayward Western Bulldogs line-up last week but could move inside with a second-straight victory over the improving Crows at Adelaide Oval.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick believes Vlastuin’s “probable” inclusion will make a significant difference, given the youth in the Tigers’ backline and co-captain Dylan Grimes’ absence.
“He’s one of those players that makes those around him better. Players walk a little bit taller with him in the side, because of the way he goes about it,” Hardwick said.
“We’ve got a young, developing defence down there as well.
“(Hugo) Ralphsmith’s come into the side and shown some really good signs; Ben Miller stood up again for us last week; Josh Gibcus is a player we’ve got high hopes for also; and Daniel Rioli is forging his way.”
There is optimism about another premiership star, Kane Lambert (hip), who played half a game in the VFL last weekend after the Tigers’ medicos opted against surgery.
Lambert will play about three quarters at second-tier level this week before Richmond reassesses “how he progresses from there”.
“It was just great to see him on the field,” Hardwick said.
“It speaks magnitudes of him as a person that a couple of our players in the game at VFL level played their best game, because he’s around them.
“He’s one of those guys, as I said earlier with Nick, who makes players around him better. That’s the measure of a star, in my opinion ... and we look forward to him progressing again this week.”
Hardwick echoed Melbourne premiership coach Simon Goodwin’s sentiments about the AFL’s soft cap, saying the fewer resources made life more difficult for staff in various roles.
“What the (smaller) soft cap has done is it’s made us make some necessary cuts,” he said.
“But player welfare and health and safety is first and foremost in our mind, and I think that is the area that we probably feel we could be better resourced in at various stages, because it’s challenging.
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“The man hours are tough. It’s a tough gig and it’s always been a tough gig. Don’t get me wrong; we get adequately rewarded.
“But burnout is a really strong factor. It’s not the industry that it was once before.
“We want people to come in and put their hand up to be AFL coaches, because we think we are world-leading in a lot of aspects, but we’re probably doing a lot of things now that aren’t leading the front in that equation.”
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