Richmond coach Adem Yze gave an update on Josh Smillie’s return to full training during the Club's Annual General Meeting on Wednesday night. 

After successfully undergoing quad surgery late last year, the 19-year-old Smillie has already returned to running and is just "three to four weeks away" from full training. 

“We know the talent that he has got, but he has been through a lot,” Yze said of Smillie. 

“Right now, we feel like we have found the remedy. He had an operation, and he has started his running program. I think he is three or four weeks away from full training.

“Hopefully, he has seen the end of that. He needs a little bit of luck.”  

Yze expressed how pleased he is to see how well the five new additions - Sam Cumming, Sam Grlj, Zane Peucker, Noah Roberts-Thomson and Patrick Retschko - have integrated into the playing group, with many of them already making a strong case for Round 1 selection.

“They have been really impressive,” Yze said.

“We had two really early picks in Sam Grlj and Sam Cumming, and obviously, they are high-end talents, and they are showing that already at training.

“All of the boys who have walked in, Peucker, Noah Roberts-Thomson, and obviously Patty Retschko has been in the system for 12 months. They are all talented kids, and they are all showing some things.

“Hopefully you will see them in those early games as well. We want to expose those types of players and that youth really early, and hopefully we see some exposure against Essendon and Melbourne, and a few of them might put their hand up for Round 1, which would be nice.”  

As the side prepares for its first practice match against the Bombers on February 20, training has ramped up with an increased focus on match simulations. 

Yze said he is looking forward to seeing the group test itself against opposition for the first time in 2026.

“Our players understand that they are playing against their teammates and they don’t want to kill each other out on the training track, but at the same time they need to hit bodies and be ready to play,” Yze said.  

“We are always balancing that, and our coaches are really smart with that, with the drills that we are putting them through.

“On Friday, we will up the ante again. We will play three quarters of high-intensity footy against each other, and we need to be ready against the Bombers in a couple of weeks.”

Richmond will meet Essendon on Friday, February 20, at the NEC Hangar in Tullamarine. Click here for more details.