RICHMOND young gun Josh Gibcus can see the light at the end of the tunnel after transitioning back into full training, but 2024 top-10 pick Josh Smillie will be sidelined for at least a few weeks with another hamstring setback.
Gibcus has played only two games since he featured 18 times in an impressive debut season in 2022 due to a complex hamstring injury in 2023, before rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in round one last year.
The 22-year-old required secondary knee surgery last year and didn't run for nine months due to complications with his rehabilitation, but returned to Qatar in the off-season to spend time inside internationally renowned sports medicine practice Aspetar.
Since starting to run again in January, Gibcus has gradually built his workload up to a point where the Tigers are now hoping the 2021 pick No.9 will be ready to return in the VFL by the start of July.
Speaking at the Swinburne Centre ahead of training on Thursday, Richmond coach Adem Yze believes the key defender will return for a block of games in the closing months of the home and away season.
"We are really confident with that," Yze said at Punt Road.
"He will join in a few main sessions, which is great. He has a timeline now of 7-9 weeks, so now he can see the light.
"We were just really mindful that he needed a block of training. Pre-seasons are really short, so if you have any interruptions, let alone if you’re coming back from a knee reco, you need to get a pre-season into him. Right now, he's doing that. He'll be running around today in a yellow hat, so you will notice him.
"He is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our fitness staff have done an amazing job with him, they’ve been really patient. He is such an important player for us, such a highly talented kid that we just can’t take any risk with. We’ve got the right process in place, so hopefully we give him a great opportunity later in the year.”
Mykelti Lefau will be the next of the ‘ACL five’ to return when he plays in the VFL this Sunday after ticking off the final stage of his rehab last weekend. Tylar Young is aiming to play next weekend, while first-round pick Taj Hotton is at least six more weeks away.
Just when Smillie was closing in on a debut, the 2024 pick No.7 suffered a third hamstring issue since being drafted – all have been minor – with the club hopeful of having him back playing this side of the AFL bye in round 14.
Yze is mindful of the mental challenges high picks deal with when they don’t play in their first seasons in the AFL, at a time when Luke Trainor has played the first nine and Sam Lalor has played all but one since being selected at pick No. 1.
"We sat down with him, because I think you can wear that being a high draft pick; being a highly talented kid can create some anxiety about trying to get in," Yze said.
"We've got to be really patient with this kid. When he comes back, we need him to be playing some consistent footy. We sat down with [high performance manager] Ben Serpell and set out a strong plan.
"It is only a minor setback, but we'll give him an extra couple of weeks to get his body right, so when he is ready he is hitting the ground running. He is a really resilient kid, so he will be OK. He is not too far away."
Richmond will celebrate Kamdyn McIntosh's contribution to the club when the West Australian runs out for the 200th time in the yellow and black against North Melbourne at the MCG. The Tigers will be handing out headbands to fans on Sunday to pay tribute to the veteran wingman.
The 31-year-old didn't secure a deal for 2025 until after the trade period, but has played the first nine games of the season to prove he still has as much to offer on-field as he does outside the two hours each weekend.
"If you ask him, he probably didn't think he'd get to 100 games, let alone a two-time premiership player and a great Richmond man. We will celebrate that on Saturday. It is something we do really well as a footy club and that’s celebrate our people," Yze said.
"I preach to our players that obviously you've got to be a good footballer, but a great teammate; that's exactly what he is and that’s the reason why he has lasted so long. He was in here this morning at 6.30 getting his body right, doing some touch with our younger players; he is a great person to have around our footy club and he has been a master at his role on that wing for 10 odd years and done it at a high level. We will celebrate that this weekend with our Tiger army."
Captain Toby Nankervis didn't train on Thursday but isn't considered in any doubt for the weekend, with the ruckman often managed. Jayden Short also trained after being a late out last Sunday with calf tightness.
Triple premiership midfielder Dion Prestia was the first player out on the track on Thursday and is building towards a return next week, with Yze set to bring the 32-year-old back through the VFL for the first time in his career.
"I think that will probably be the plan," he said.
"He will hate me saying that, but we've got to be very cautious with what happened last year; I don't think he played any VFL games last year and we got the result we got. If it means he needs half a game at VFL level then we will do that.
"We need a fit Dion at AFL level. He is such an important player and leader for us. When he comes back we want him back for the rest of the season, not in and out."
After winning only two games in Yze's first season at Punt Road, Richmond already has three wins on the board and could move out of the bottom four with a win over North Melbourne on Sunday.
