Richmond has backed former Blue Shaun Hampson to shoulder its ruck division in Thursday night's season-opener against Carlton, with the Club’s No.1 big man Ivan Maric likely to miss the game because of a back complaint.
The Tigers’ coach Damien Hardwick is confident Hampson, who crossed to Punt Road in 2013 after 63 games with the Blues, is ready for the ruck responsibility.
“We're really excited to see what he has to offer. He has elite numbers from a hit-out perspective. We sort of haven't had that,” Hardwick said.
“We're looking forward to what he can give us.
“He's going to give us first use of the ball, we feel, for the majority of the night.
“We're going to ride Shaun and see how he goes.
"He'll definitely play.
“He had a pretty good game versus Port Adelaide (the final NAB Challenge match). It was his first hit-out, so we're looking forward to him getting out there.”
Maric, who played 22 games last season, looks likely to start 2016 on the sidelines, as he nurses a back injury.
“He's probably doubtful at this stage,” Hardwick said ahead of training on Tuesday morning.
“We'll see how he goes today. I'm not even quite sure if he'll train today . . . he might do a little bit tomorrow.”
The Tigers have a number of injury concerns in the lead-up to Round 1, with Brett Deledio (quad), Reece Conca (hamstring) and Chris Yarran (foot) already ruled out of the contest.
Yarran was at the Club's Punt Road headquarters on Tuesday, before hobbling to a waiting car on crutches following foot surgery on Monday.
Hardwick believes the setback, which will see the former Blue unavailable for senior selection for about six weeks, might be a “blessing in disguise”.
“He's been not able to train at AFL intensity with the plantar fascia (injury), so we're probably pleased that he has had the operation done. Now he can move on,” Hardwick said.
“He's a long-term prospect for us.
“We're pleased he can get the operation done, and he'll be able to help us in the back-end of the year. We're excited by what he's going to bring.”
Hardwick said Richmond’s first-round draft pick Daniel Rioli was a chance to debut against the Blues after encouraging form in the pre-season series, with the 18-year-old one of several players who could benefit from the Tigers’ injury issues.
“Obviously we've got a couple of injuries, but the great thing about our footy club at the moment is we've got significant depth. We're pleased to give some of those guys an opportunity,” Hardwick said.
“There are certainly some players who we'd like to have available, but the reality is they can't help us this week, so we move on pretty quickly.”
