Richmond club champion Dan Jackson has declared himself available to return from a hip injury in Saturday's clash against the Brisbane Lions as the Tigers chase back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Jackson has not played at AFL level since round 11 because of a hip flexor injury but he returned with the Tigers' VFL team at the weekend and finished with 21 possessions and eight clearances in an encouraging display.
The 28-year-old said he got through unscathed and pulled up well on Sunday, staking his claim to return and bolster the Tigers' midfield and leadership stocks.
"I battled around to get my kicks but hopefully I did enough to get back in this week," he said on Monday.
"The boys had a good win so it might be tough to squeeze back in.
"I'll put my hand up. I pulled up well so I'll just have to make sure I train well.
"The hip will be fine, it's just a matter of squeezing me back into the team."
By beating St Kilda in round 15, Richmond put some space between itself and the 18th-placed Saints, and Jackson said there had been positives in the team's football for the past month.
He declared the Tigers were back on track in the way "we've attacked our footy" but there was still a lot of work to do as the club seeked to regain respect in a disappointing season.
"We're doing what we do best, which is defending manically and attacking the ball as well as we have in the last 12 months, or since last year when that's what we stood out for," Jackson said.
"The best thing is we're on the right track now. We've just got to stick to our guns and keep working on it and building that confidence back in."
Jackson joined teammate Dylan Grimes at The Alannah and Madeline Foundation in South Melbourne on Monday to help launch the 'Stand up for our Kids' campaign.
The campaign aims to bring awareness to the fact almost one million Australian children have lived with violence in their homes, and the Tigers are dedicating their clash against the Brisbane Lions to the cause.
Each year The Alannah and Madeline Foundation hands out about 9000 'Buddy Bags', which contain items for children who find themselves in emergency situations.
"More often than not children are the silent victim in domestic violence, so it's just about standing up for what is right for little people who can't stand up for themselves," Jackson said.
"(The Buddy Bags) are there for any sort of emergency. There's some emergency items, some fun stuff, just some kids-relevant things because sometimes they're forgotten.
"Little kids have got to have a youth, so this gives them a little bit of their childhood back in a tough situation."
