AFL round 1 teams: Francis Evans to make Carlton debut, Maurice Rioli left out for Tigers

The Tigers won’t be alone in playing a bunch of debutants on Thursday night, with a third Blue coming from nowhere to force his way into the round 1 side.

Richmond has left out exciting forward Maurice Rioli as it bloods three debutants in its season-opening clash against Carlton.

The Tigers confirmed earlier in the week that No.1 draft pick Sam Lalor would play despite suffering a fractured jaw in the pre-season.

He will line up alongside fellow draftees Harry Armstrong and Luke Trainor, who were both selected out of Sandringham Dragons’ program.

Meanwhile the Blues will hand club debuts to Francis Evans and Nick Haynes, as well as an AFL debut to Lucas Camporeale.

Evans joined Carlton late in the pre-season as a SSP signing, having trained with the club over the summer after being delisted by Port Adelaide.

Camporeale and Haynes were told of their selection in front of Carlton fans at IKON Park, while Evans had to wait to be told of his club debut.

Tom Lynch has been named at full forward for Richmond, with the veteran key target battling to recover from a pre-season concussion.

Lynch has struggled for continuity in recent seasons, with injuries keeping him to just eight games in the past two years.

Carlton will enter the clash as heavy favourites against the young Tigers outfit, but the Blues will be without Charlie Curnow as he continues to recover from his minor knee surgery.

He had several screws removed from previous surgery and is expected to return in round 2 or 3.

‘FINAL PIECE’ FOR BLUES AS VOSS BACKS HOLLANDS IN

- Ed Bourke

Carlton coach Michael Voss says he was aware Elijah Hollands was dealing with personal issues and was not caught off guard by his decision to step away from the game on the eve of the season.

Hollands was on Tuesday granted an indefinite period of leave as the Blues asked for his privacy to be respected while he dealt with “circumstances of a personal nature”.

The 22-year-old’s absence leaves a midfield-forward role set to be filled by 2024 mid-season draftee Cooper Lord, who played two games last season.

Voss said players and staff had reacted with “empathy” for Hollands after he informed teammates of his decision in an emotional meeting on Tuesday morning.

“(Hollands) has been really upfront with us on where he’s at. It’s been something we’ve been talking about a fair bit with him, and monitoring, and he felt the best course of action was to take some personal leave,” Voss said.

Elijah Hollands has stepped away from the Blues. Picture: Josh Chadwick/Getty Images.

“For us as a club right now, we support it – he’ll spend some time on himself, and we carry on with the season.

“I guess if it all transpired and we learnt about this (on Tuesday), well that’s a different discussion … but what we’ve got do right now is just support (Hollands) the best we possibly can, give him the privacy that he needs, and we’ve got to get on with business.”

Hollands’ younger brother, Ollie, has moved to halfback, and will join a returning Jack Silvagni in a revamped backline also featuring GWS recruit Nick Haynes against Richmond.

Silvagni will play his first AFL game in exactly 600 days after rupturing his ACL last January.

Voss said the returning Silvagni is the “final piece” in a revamped backline which will be unveiled against Richmond on Thursday night.

Voss confirmed Silvagni would play his first game in 600 days after a pre-season ACL injury in January last year, joining GWS recruit Nick Haynes and Mitch McGovern as hybrid talls supporting Jacob Weitering.

With Charlie Curnow (knee) and Marc Pittonet (calf) missing from the Blues’ side, Voss said Silvagni would be an option to support Tom De Koning in the ruck, while the door remains ajar for Lewis Young to sneak into the final 23 as a forward-ruck option.

Young and SSP rookie trio Francis Evans, Will White and Matt Carroll were all in the 26-man squad which took part in a captain’s run at Ikon Park on Wednesday.

Former captain Sam Docherty and 2024 mid-season draft selection Cooper Lord are both expected to be named in the final 23.

Jack Silvagni will feature for Carlton on Thursday night.

Evans is the most likely of the three pre-season signings to face the Tigers as the Blues eye a forward-half replacement for Elijah Hollands, who kicked 17 goals last year but on Tuesday was granted indefinite leave from the club to deal with personal issues.

Voss said players and staff had reacted with “empathy” for Hollands after he spoke in front of teammates on Tuesday morning.

The coach said the Blues had not been caught off-guard by Hollands’ decision, after he was used sparsely in the pre-season matches.

“I guess if it all transpired and we learnt about this (on Tuesday), well that’s a different discussion, but what we’ve got do right now is just support (Hollands) the best we possibly can, give him the privacy that he needs, and we’ve got to get on with business,” Voss said.

Voss said younger brother Ollie Hollands was “focused” on the Blues’ season opener and being supported by the club.

Ollie Hollands is set to play in Carlton’s defence this year. Picture Lachie Millard

Shifting Silvagni and Ollie Hollands to defence would help Carlton evolve as a side this season, according to the coach.

“Our ability to advance as a football team is going to be based on how we defend better, so we’ve gone after that pretty hard,” Voss said.

“That means we’ve had to shift a few of the magnets … and over the course of the pre-season, what we’ve seen so far, we’ve really liked. ‘SOS’ (Silvagni) over the last month has probably been the final piece (in the backline) because he’s come off the ACL.

“That group is different from last year … there’s points of difference everywhere, with ‘SOS’ there, (Nick) Haynes comes in, Ollie Hollands has been playing a little more at halfback.

“They’ve spent a lot of time there over the pre-season, working on their relationships and their cohesion, so we get the first look at it against Richmond.”

“‘SOS’ has been one over the last month that has probably been the final piece in terms of being there, coming off the ACL. That group is different: just taking note of the personnel, there are points of difference everywhere. We’ve got ‘SOS’ there, Haynes comes in, Ollie Hollands has been playing more halfback.

“There’s some genuine change there … we get to play it out and get the first look at it against Richmond.”

Originally published as AFL round 1 teams: Francis Evans to make Carlton debut, Maurice Rioli left out for Tigers