RICHMOND youngster Taj Hotton has avoided a serious injury despite finishing the clash against Hawthorn on the bench with ice on his ankle. 

Hotton landed awkwardly in a marking contest and tried to walk it off, but he headed to the bench shortly after and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.

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Hotton has endured a wretched run with injuries to start his career, playing just seven games in his debut season after recovering from a knee reconstruction in his draft year, before a bone stress reaction kept him sidelined until round 15 this year.

The Hawthorn clash was the first time Hotton and prized youngster Sam Lalor have played together on an AFL stage, finally giving Richmond fans a glimpse into the future.

Richmond coach Adem Yze confirmed post-game that Hotton had rolled his ankle in the third quarter incident.

"He was keen to go back on which shows the type of kid that he is, but he's just too important for us," Yze said.

"It was the first time Taj and Sam Lalor got to play together, it was good to see them in the centre bounce and sharing the ball. They'll be better for it."

Yze said his side "let the Tiger Army down" in a horror first half, as the Hawks put on a clinic at the MCG.

"We got belted in all three phases. Smashed in contested possession, smashed in time in half, didn't give our forwards an opportunity and got taught a footy lesson," Yze said.

"It was really disappointing on a day where we came here really keen to celebrate a great Richmond man in Dion Prestia. 

"We just didn't play the right way in the first half; we let our Tiger Army down in the first half. We need to own that … we don't need to shy away from that. We weren't good enough in the first half and that was the story of the game."

Elsewhere, Hawthorn livewire Jack Ginnivan did not feature in the second half due to back soreness, but coach Sam Mitchell said post-match the Hawks were simply being cautious and managing their star forward. 

"Every player at this time of year is managing some things. We have a list of players who if we can get time off them, it will be beneficial for them," Mitchell said post-match.

"His injury is not at a point where we would need to rest him, without being disrespectful to Richmond, we thought that the game was in control and we knew we had a player that would benefit from only playing a half.

"He wasn't too pleased, I told him to go and have a shower and he was a bit sad at me. But if you get that chance, it's smart to be able to manage our list to make sure everyone is as healthy as they can be."

The Hawks will continue their push towards the top two when they take on Essendon next weekend, while Richmond faces the Western Bulldogs as it looks to return to the winners list.