Richmond key forward Tom Lynch will return from a hamstring setback in Saturday’s practice game against Geelong, but there is still doubt about Dustin Martin.
Lynch has been on light duties since mid-January and was held out of last week’s intraclub match at Punt Road Oval.
Martin is on the comeback trail from the serious kidney injury he sustained in July. He lost 10kg and was placed on a fruit-only diet for a period.
The 2017 Brownlow medallist and triple Norm Smith medallist is also grieving the death of his father Shane in December.
Tigers senior club adviser Neil Balme revealed Lynch would face the Cats at GMHBA Stadium but left some mystery around Martin’s status for this weekend.
“Tommy’s had a bit of a hammy, so we wanted to take the pressure off,” Balme told Sportsday SA.
“ He will certainly play at least two quarters this week. Dusty either will or he won’t – he’s got a few little issues, a few things going on with him, but he’s fine.
“His kidney, for example, is 100 per cent. He’s really fit, he’s been training really well, but he’s just got a couple of little things bugging him at the minute, so he may play in xjmtzywthis one or he may not.
“But it won’t have an impact on whether he plays in round 1. He’ll be ready to go from the start, for sure.”
Balme said Martin had regained most of the weight he lost and was “running really well”.
He is also confident Richmond will again be a premiership contender after failing to make the finals last year that ended a golden run of three flags in four seasons.
“I’m ever the optimist. I think we’re looking fantastic. We’ve trained really well and managed to put in a really solid pre-season,” Balme said.
“I’m really positive that it’ll be a very strong year. We had a bit of bad luck last year with injuries, which I know sometimes sounds like an excuse, but it did make it difficult for us.
“I’d be really surprised if we’re not back to where we were this year.”
The Tigers also confirmed that Matt Parker suffered a sprained foot in last Saturday’s internal match simulation.
