Hardly, I don't think he can claim the hammy unless it is off the bone or a trip to Dubai at the very least.Serpells first official hammy in the books.
He has big boots to fill.
Training Pre Season ‘25
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He has big boots to fill.
I expect the same as you...
But I think we are going to be disappointed and reclaim our old moniker 'Ninthmond' because of all the past injured players returning to the side...
- Oct 11, 2003
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put a line through gibscus.Injury update
Richmond High Performance Manager Ben Serpell has provided an injury update, following last Friday’s match simulation.
This Injury Report is brought to you by nib. With nib, life could be potentially amazing.
First-year Tigers Josh Smillie and Jasper Alger both came from the field during the hit-out, which was participated in by excellent numbers.
Smillie will enter a rehabilitation phase, due to a minor hamstring issue, while Alger will return to full training in the very near future.
“Josh has come to the Club and had a sporadic load over the last little while, which is typical of most first years,” Serpell said.
“Because of that (and his minor hamstring issue) we have decided to take a conservative approach with him and give him some consistent training.
“We still expect him to be around the mark for the early parts of the season, hopefully by trial (game) time.”
Richmond will face West Coast in Match Simulation in Perth on February 17 before a practice match against Collingwood on February 26 for the Charity Shield.
Jasper Alger remains in contention for those games, following a hyper-extension to his knee.
“Jasper hyper-extended his knee in match play last week. He got a little bit spooked, but the scans came back positively,” Serpell said.
“He will train a little bit later this week and there is a chance he will get out for match play (on Friday).
“But if not this week, it is going to be next week (that he returns to partaking in match play).”
Serpell also gave an update on Josh Gibcus, who will not be available for the early rounds of the season.
“Josh in 2023 underwent surgery to repair his hamstring after a significant strain, which was backed up by his ACL injury last year,” he said.
“So, he has had two traumatic injuries season on season, which is why what we decided to do is take a conservative approach with him.
“Josh is a long-term prospect and as we have said all along, we want to look after him. I think all Richmond fans would agree that once he is back, we want him to stay in the team instead of being in rehab again.
“He went a bit slower through the early stages of his rehab than we would have liked, but we cannot do anything about that because everyone’s body responds in different ways.
“So, he is still a long-term injury prospect, but is tracking quite well otherwise.
“We are unlikely to see Josh in the early rounds. And as I have said earlier- Judson Clarke is the one leading the way among the ACL guys and he is looking at coming back around April.”
I haven't got the time or inclination to go through how the team lined up at different stages last year, but what I do know that it was a full on train wreck.
Defence:
Lost Gibcus early, Young was sidelined, Grimes was done with his back, Blight as back up was throwing him to the wolves, Balta was forced to play forward cos no one else was available. Losing that lot and the continual changing of positions upset Millers game, he was tracking quite nicely for the first half of the season. The emergency play of getting Short to bomb it out to no one was a doomed strategy, more on that later.
Mids:
Prestia, Hopper, Taranto, Dusty (done), Bolton (meh), Ross and McAulliffe missing for large chunks necessitated the need to play Dow and others that really weren't up to it. It was very easy for oppos to sit on one of the better blokes (Taranto) if they were the only threat, completely negating any stoppage work or clearances.
Ruck:
Nank shouldered the load and did exceptionally well, can't expect him to do that again.
Forwards:
Lynch, Fawcett, Gray, Bauer and LeFau all sidelined along with a couple of flankers (Clarke) losing those meant playing Balta and Kosi as KPF's, neither was effective and Kosi was useless. That necessitated the playing of McIntosh and Brown as those forward targets, not ideal to say the least.
It's not surprising that we only had 2 wins for the season, but obviously exceptional circumstances. We've also lost 4 experienced players with one of them (maybe two) being elite in their positions. It's no wonder that oppos have us pegged as being the worst side in the comp.
Now let's look at a fit team and a change to the game plan.
Defence:
Losing Balta is a pain for 4 rounds, but I'll look at the mix from round 4. Balta, Vlastuin, Broad, Short (I know) and Miller should form the crux of a solid backline, throw in Brown, Trezise (probably depth), Banks and Kaleb Smith. Those guys, particularly with continuity of roles, are experienced enough and talented enough to match most backlines in the league. Depth is pretty solid with Trainor, Young, Gibcus, Kosi and Blight in the wings.
Mids:
Geez! A fit midline comprising of Taranto, Hopper, Prestia, Ross and McAulliffe isn't weak, throw in a couple of newbies in Lalor and Smillie as depth then we're at least competitive.
Ruck:
Not sure here, but Nank can't shoulder the load on his own. There's others who can chop out but Ryan looks good thus far. Sims and the other giants for depth.
Forwards:
A fit Lynch will be handy to say the least, maybe Ryan rotating (not keen) Bauer has been tearing it up, Gray is looking solid and then there's the plethora of KPF's taken in the draft. Mansell is doing all he can, MRJ is looking fit, Campbell is coming along nicely, Clarke looks like being available after round 4, LeFau could be a real weapon as a 3rd tall. Steely and Alger looking good too.
I'd think that comparing the two teams is like chalk and cheese. We all know that the comp is even and just a 10% drop in competitiveness means losses, look at the Blues, Pies and Freo late in the year as examples. I would say that we were 30% or more, less competitive.
Now to the game plan:
When transitioning from defence we were relying on Rioli for his run and carry but had no one to provide a marking target or even halve a contest, even if that contest was halved we had no one on the ground to win possession back. Worse was the emergency bail out when Short was given the ball just to bang it out of the defensive 50 in hope. I'm sure that we all cringed when it was in his hands. Both of those plays saw us losing possession and the ball being delivered back to oppo forwards easily considering our defence had pushed higher up the ground and were out of position and undermanned.
There has been a distinct emphasis on maintaining possession in transitional plays so far, maybe a short kick but then finding another player, preferably inside the corridor and working the ball forward, either by foot or hand. This relies on marking targets and Bauer has been a standout, there'll be others who can be effective but the key will be in halving those contests and having players who can win the ball back should it be a halved situation, a fit Taranto, Hopper, Prestia, Ross and McAulliffe are vital.
The hand wringers and woe is me types can't or won't see the differences, but I certainly can.
Defence:
Lost Gibcus early, Young was sidelined, Grimes was done with his back, Blight as back up was throwing him to the wolves, Balta was forced to play forward cos no one else was available. Losing that lot and the continual changing of positions upset Millers game, he was tracking quite nicely for the first half of the season. The emergency play of getting Short to bomb it out to no one was a doomed strategy, more on that later.
Mids:
Prestia, Hopper, Taranto, Dusty (done), Bolton (meh), Ross and McAulliffe missing for large chunks necessitated the need to play Dow and others that really weren't up to it. It was very easy for oppos to sit on one of the better blokes (Taranto) if they were the only threat, completely negating any stoppage work or clearances.
Ruck:
Nank shouldered the load and did exceptionally well, can't expect him to do that again.
Forwards:
Lynch, Fawcett, Gray, Bauer and LeFau all sidelined along with a couple of flankers (Clarke) losing those meant playing Balta and Kosi as KPF's, neither was effective and Kosi was useless. That necessitated the playing of McIntosh and Brown as those forward targets, not ideal to say the least.
It's not surprising that we only had 2 wins for the season, but obviously exceptional circumstances. We've also lost 4 experienced players with one of them (maybe two) being elite in their positions. It's no wonder that oppos have us pegged as being the worst side in the comp.
Now let's look at a fit team and a change to the game plan.
Defence:
Losing Balta is a pain for 4 rounds, but I'll look at the mix from round 4. Balta, Vlastuin, Broad, Short (I know) and Miller should form the crux of a solid backline, throw in Brown, Trezise (probably depth), Banks and Kaleb Smith. Those guys, particularly with continuity of roles, are experienced enough and talented enough to match most backlines in the league. Depth is pretty solid with Trainor, Young, Gibcus, Kosi and Blight in the wings.
Mids:
Geez! A fit midline comprising of Taranto, Hopper, Prestia, Ross and McAulliffe isn't weak, throw in a couple of newbies in Lalor and Smillie as depth then we're at least competitive.
Ruck:
Not sure here, but Nank can't shoulder the load on his own. There's others who can chop out but Ryan looks good thus far. Sims and the other giants for depth.
Forwards:
A fit Lynch will be handy to say the least, maybe Ryan rotating (not keen) Bauer has been tearing it up, Gray is looking solid and then there's the plethora of KPF's taken in the draft. Mansell is doing all he can, MRJ is looking fit, Campbell is coming along nicely, Clarke looks like being available after round 4, LeFau could be a real weapon as a 3rd tall. Steely and Alger looking good too.
I'd think that comparing the two teams is like chalk and cheese. We all know that the comp is even and just a 10% drop in competitiveness means losses, look at the Blues, Pies and Freo late in the year as examples. I would say that we were 30% or more, less competitive.
Now to the game plan:
When transitioning from defence we were relying on Rioli for his run and carry but had no one to provide a marking target or even halve a contest, even if that contest was halved we had no one on the ground to win possession back. Worse was the emergency bail out when Short was given the ball just to bang it out of the defensive 50 in hope. I'm sure that we all cringed when it was in his hands. Both of those plays saw us losing possession and the ball being delivered back to oppo forwards easily considering our defence had pushed higher up the ground and were out of position and undermanned.
There has been a distinct emphasis on maintaining possession in transitional plays so far, maybe a short kick but then finding another player, preferably inside the corridor and working the ball forward, either by foot or hand. This relies on marking targets and Bauer has been a standout, there'll be others who can be effective but the key will be in halving those contests and having players who can win the ball back should it be a halved situation, a fit Taranto, Hopper, Prestia, Ross and McAulliffe are vital.
The hand wringers and woe is me types can't or won't see the differences, but I certainly can.
- Apr 27, 2014
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not sure if joking, but honestly I think this too.
if we get any games at full health out of him, consider it a bonus
you can only sympathise and imagine where his mental health is at after this long out and still can't even do a pre-season.
Agreed 100%.
ps. you might have glossed over Taranto missing 8 games on the trot as well. Remember he broke his wrist at training, captains run, with 1 minute left in the session.
Nah, mentioned him in the mids missing in the first part. He was sat on though when he did play as there was no one else, hopefully there's others around to relieve that pressure.
The last paragraph caught my eye, if Clarke is leading the ACL guys and won't be back until around April that means Lefau & Hotton will be later.
Hopefully that gives someone like Bauer a decent chance to play forward with a fit Lynch.
Why do some of our supporters expect a tall player coming off an ACL, after being out for a whole season with a mis-managed hamstring, to be ready quicker than 12 months. He did it in round 1 which is still 6 weeks or so away from being 12 months. Given his talent I would expect us to be cautious around his return. We will need him more in 2026-2036 than we will need him in 2025. He will play in 2025 no doubt but he's a valuable asset so we should be certain and then wait longer again. We rarely risked anyone when we were a strong team, it makes less sense to do it when we are weaker (despite what we did time and time again in 2024).
Groupie_
time to return the traditional Richmond yellow
there was rumours he had a set back in dec but they covered it up
- Apr 13, 2011
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2.5 years is getting into coghlan territories
good write-up. im pretty confident we'll have a better season than last year even with the exits. people seem to have forgotten how cursed we were with injuries, it was ridiculous. just having a reasonably stable team being fielded each wee will net us wins. last year it was musical chairs and no one had any chance to settle or gel.
wegetpumped
Norm Smith Medallist
Dude said commie (communist lol) so i said that dude had more credentials.Wins what wegetpumped?
- Jan 27, 2017
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How mate? The dude is a bonfide capitalist
wegetpumped
Norm Smith Medallist
Not really i had some great times some players were brilliant just not enough at a time to set up a team. Remember we had Richo for one.
wegetpumped
Norm Smith Medallist
In disguise come to thing of it he is everything it's worse than i thought lol
Noidnadroj
Norm Smith Medallist
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Sorry but this is why i didn’t want Macca retained for 2025. He’s had a terrific career and during our dynasty period the team always seemed more stable with him in it.
But the fact we are talking about trying to find a midfield spot for him?!? What on earth for? We are finishing bottom-4 and probably bottom-2. We cannot remove 23 valuable midfield games from our new draftees, McAuliffe, Sonsie, Ross or even Dow because Macca might make a fist of tagging.
This is why I didn’t want him retained, because we would feel we needed experienced and mature bodies and he will end up playing most games and take those games off the development of youngsters who will be around when we are next contending.
Given he’s on the list he should be in the VfL helping the kids, driving training standards, providing leadership and keeping up enthusiasm as the losses mount. He shouldn’t be in the senior team at this stage of our development, and in the words of Terry Wallace, if he’s attending Centre Bounces while McAuliffe is the SUB and Sonsie js on a HFF “I’ll spew up”.
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Noidnadroj
Norm Smith Medallist
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Serpent has said 12-months is the minimum in his eyes for ACL recovery. Couple this with the hamstring issues from the year before which meant early recovery was slow, and his tender age, then I’d think 15–16 months will be the timeline in his head. This puts him back in action around June/July.
It’s frustrating but reality is, if he has another major leg/knee injury in 2025 I’d be almost resigned to never seeing him as a major player for us. So i hope that when we are confident he’s 100% ready, we give him another month for no reason other than giving him the best chance of remaining sound.
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Noidnadroj
Norm Smith Medallist
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[emoji[emoji6
]][emoji6][emoji[emoji6][emoji6]][emoji[emoji6]
]" data-quote="Tiger__Life" data-source="post: 0"
class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">
.[emoji6] years is getting into coghlan territories
Coghlan had chronic hammy issues for multiple years, then an ACL which he did again slipping in the shower. Gibcus is another ACL and another couple of trips overseas to reach Coghlan levels of bad luck …
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- Oct 19, 2020
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Kmac will be vital for on field leadership.
2024 Balta started KPF and did kick a goal or 2. Moved back when Gibcus got injured. Moved forward to give Blight a go.
Miller came in for Young and had a solid year. Not great. Still lacks intensity. Doubt if he keeps his spot when the troops are back from ACL rehab.
Naismith rucked for Nank's missed games. Ryan/Sims will be fine.
Dow got a game cos Sonz was suspended, Ross been playing wing this year and since 2021, McAuliffe wasn't injured, just managed.
No Lynch, we are f***d, Ryan wasn't a target.
A Fit Lynch & we kick more than 9 goals a game.
_RT_
Community Leader
- Sep 17, 2006
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You don't just hand games to players because they're younger, they need to be performing better than the older guys regardless of who it is.
So if KMac is playing ahead of any younger players I'd be questioning their performances rather than KMac being retained.
practice matches ~ Kmac in the middle, is probably tagger practice the benefit of the mids. I reckon he starts one wing. Ross/Banks/Hugo battling for the other.
Banks & Hugo run as far as him, but Kmac never injured, rarely dropped...he's only 30 ~ got 10 years left in him. I'm tipping he's our next 400 gamer.
If we wanted someone to play that role we should have talked Pickett to play 10 more games. Much better investment.
