AFL Injury News: Richmond Tigers’ woes deepen with 7 new injuries ahead of Saturday’s clash with Brisbane Lions
Richmond needs to present a 26-man squad ahead of their match against Brisbane Lions. But with their injury problems, the number of players available for selection is 26.
Maurice Rioli Jr. was tackled by Adam Treloar in the final minutes of Richmond’s loss to the Bulldogs. His foot got caught under Treloar's body. He was unable to move his leg and had to be driven off the field.
This incident wasn't the first injury of the night, as Sam Banks was flipped mid air and knocked out by Tim English. He was also driven off the field but woke up moments later when he was examined by medical personnel.
The Tigers will also miss Jack Graham, who was subbed out with a hamstring injury in the third quarter, and possibly also Seth Campbell and Tyler Sonsie. The VFL team will also miss James Trezise, who just returned from an ankle injury, and Jacob Koschitzke who all got injured during their weekend matches in the senior team and reserve team.
If Liam Barker and Dylan Grimes are cleared by the medical team, Richmond’s available squad memebrs will rise to 28.
Over the last few months, Richmond has suffered a lot of injury issues, especially reinjuries and soft tissue problems. Their AFLW side also suffered a lot of injuries late last year, so they had to pick from their reserve side.
Richmond coach speaks about team injuries and performance
According to Fox footy, after the match, coach Adam Yze spoke about the injuries his team picked up during the match.
He explained about Maurice Rioli's injury:
“Maurice, We're hoping it's just a rolled ankle but whenever there's a rolled ankle it could be syndesmosis,but we'll just wait for the scan on that.
"He was trying so hard in that last quarter too. We gave him a bit of midfield exposure, which was nice, but then to see him get injured … we've got a few sore boys there.”
About Sam Banks and Jack Graham, he said:
“Banksy's up and about now. He was concussed, so he'll go into the protocols. Jack Graham just felt tight in a hammy, the same hammy, so we didn't want to take any risks with that, but we'll have to bite the bullet and he'll be out for a week or two.”
Even though Yze's side lost, he praised the Bulldogs' effort but expressed disappointment in his side not being able to stamp themselves into the game:
"Our execution and our method was off early. In the first half, we just couldn't get our game going the way we wanted to and they were very, very good.
"They came with a strong contest, smashed us around clearance and their good players played really well. It's really disappointing.”
Richmond lost 133-42 to the Bulldogs. The game was over before it even began as the Bulldogs totally dominated. Aaron Naughton, Sam Darcy and James Harmes scored four goals each.
Richmond are one spot above rock-bottom with four points. They face the Brisbane Lions, who are 13th, in their round 10 game this weekend.