Richmond hopes to regain young key defender Josh Gibcus within the first two months of the season, following a frustrating recovery from the knee reconstruction that ended his 2024 campaign in round one.
The 2021 No.9 pick has only played two games since featuring 18 times in his debut season, missing all of 2023 due to a nightmare hamstring tendon injury that resulted in multiple wound infections, nerve damage and muscular atrophy, before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament on March 14 last year.
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Gibcus travelled to Qatar to visit internationally renowned sports medicine practice Aspetar at the end of 2023, before returning to Doha last off-season to visit Irish ACL rehabilitation specialist, Dr Edna King, after experiencing a slower than expected recovery that involved secondary knee surgery.
Richmond has been forced to deal with a spate of knee reconstructions across Adem Yze's first 18 months at the helm, dating back to Gibcus – and including Sam Naismith who retired at the end of last season. Judson Clarke (April 13), Tylar Young (May 25), Mykelti Lefau (June 1) and first-round pick Taj Hotton (May) are all recovering from ACL tears and are on track to return in the first half of the season.
All five members of Richmond's ACL quintet travelled to Samoa for a five-day trip earlier this month to visit New Zealand-born Samoan Lefau's family in the Pacific nation, breaking up a long slog back from the dreaded injury.
While Clarke has raced ahead of the pack and Lefau has made significant progress over summer, the Tigers, under new high performance boss Ben Serpell, are determined for all players to complete a 12-month rehabilitation block.
Speaking to AFL.com.au ahead of his second season at Punt Road, Yze said the Tigers can't put a timeline on Gibcus' return until he starts full training but knows the Tigers must be patient with the blue-chip backman.
"We've got five players recovering from ACLs. Josh was the first one. He did his first, but his progress would be halfway. He is nowhere near round one, he won't be ready," Yze said.
"Judson Clarke has gone past him. Mykelti Lefau did his knee the latest out of anyone and he is ticking more boxes than Josh already. The hardest thing for a kid that's had multiple injuries and over two years now is the frustration around the time.
"When you think of a knee, you think 12 months, so by round one you'd think he's ready. But he won't be. We've got to make sure he doesn't think he needs to be. That won't be fair on him. His body is made up differently than Judson and Mykelti. But what comes with that, is frustration. He is trying to tick these boxes and having people pass him, so I've sensed that has frustrated him. I've had heaps of chats with him about that.
"He is such a terrific kid that deserves some luck. He is helping our AFLW program while he is in recovery with Tylar Young. No one told them to do it, they just wanted to help the girls. That's the type of people they are.
"Josh is starting to run, which is a positive, but the timeline is hard to put a number on it because that can cause some anxiety. He won't be ready for round one, but we are hoping round 4-6 or whatever. The minute he starts to join in training we will be able to give that timeline. Unfortunately, it will be a bit longer than 12 months."
Richmond expects Tom Lynch to be ready when the Tigers start their season against Carlton in round one, after the All-Australian spearhead suffered a concussion at training, stalling a strong pre-season up until that point, following just four appearances in 2024.
The Tigers will enter 2025 with a completely different list profile to last year, shifting from the fourth oldest to third youngest – and least experienced – list in the AFL after an off-season player exodus.
Dion Prestia, who is now the oldest player at the Swinburne Centre following the retirements of Dustin Martin, Dylan Grimes, Marlion Pickett and Naismith, has been managed differently this pre-season – he barely trained with the main group in January – after being limited to just 13 appearances in 2024 due to soft tissue strains.
"We need to get smarter. Dion is such a diligent worker. His running numbers and the way he works, he is so meticulous with how he looks after and prepares his body, he doesn't need to be there training every minute of the day," Yze explained.
"'Lynchy' was similar and 'Nank' (Toby Nankervis) was similar. They are getting to an age where we've got to get you ready for the season, we don't need you for November 25. They were on a modified program, but that was just the collision and contact part. They were on a program that got them ready for middle of Jan.
"We made a mistake last with Dion going off a five-day break from Opening Round. He was adamant he was right to play. We ended up pulling the wrong lever and played him. He has obviously missed a few games. You see him in the back end of the season how important he is to us. He is an extra coach out there for us. He will be a coach when he finishes playing, he is such a student of the game. We need him out there and hopefully we've got a program in place that allows him to play the majority of the season."
Richmond will be without pick No.1 Sam Lalor for next Wednesday night's AAMI Community Series game against Collingwood after he entered the League's concussion protocols during match simulation on Monday, but pick No.7 Josh Smillie is on track to be available.
