Dion Prestia

As Richmond prepares for its Round 2 match against the Gold Coast Suns, High Performance Manager Ben Serpell has cleared premiership-winning duo Nick Vlastuin and Dion Prestia for selection. 

However, in unfortunate news, explosive small forward Rhyan Mansell is expected to be sidelined after sustaining a fractured wrist during last week's season opener against Carlton. 

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Nick Vlastuin: Management, Available

“We can expect Nick to come out this week,” Serpell said.

“In retrospect, he probably could have been ok to play last week, but we took the opportunity to get some more training into him.

“He's such an important player in our team, he's still got 20-plus games to go this year, so we thought we'd get some more training into him, but expect to see him out there this weekend.”

Dion Prestia: Hamstring, Available 

“Happy to say Dion's got through all of his training...probably expect to see him out there this weekend at some level,” Serpell said. 

Samson Ryan: Foot, 1 week

“Samson's progressing quite well, and we're expecting him to be returning to play at some level next weekend,” Serpell said.

Rhyan Mansell: Wrist, 3-4 weeks

“Rhyan presented to the injury clinic the day after the game, complaining of a sore wrist, so we scanned it, and we saw there was a little scaphoid fracture there,” Serpell said. 

“He's going to undergo surgery tomorrow, and then he'll miss the next three to four weeks of playing.”

Taj Hotton

Taj Hotton: Hip, TBC

“Taj is off crutches now, he's walking around with a little bit of a smile on his face, which is good,” Serpell said. 

“We'll get a CT scan on that hip next week to see how the healing's going, and we'll make some plans after that.”

Sam Cumming: Shoulder, TBC

“Sam Cumming is back into football training with a yellow hat on and doing some contact progressions out to the side," Serpell said.

“We're hoping to see him training without a non-contact hat next week, see how that goes for another couple of weeks, and we'll make a call after that.”

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Player Injury Estimated Return
4. Sam Lalor

4. Sam Lalor

Knee Unavailable

Lalor had a collision incident involving his right knee late in the Round 22 AFL game.

Read Article
29. Jasper Alger

29. Jasper Alger

Ankle Unavailable

Alger has pulled up with some ankle soreness after the Round 21 VFL game.

Read Article
21. Noah Balta

21. Noah Balta

Toe Season

Balta injured his toe after an awkward landing during a contest in Round 19.

Read Article
22. Sam Cumming

22. Sam Cumming

Ankle/Shoulder Season

Cumming suffered a moderate grade syndesmosis injury in a tackle during Round 21. The ankle injury will not require surgery, but the Club will take the opportunity for him to go in and have his shoulder operated on.

Read Article
7. Rhyan Mansell

7. Rhyan Mansell

Foot Season

The Club sought specialist opinion regarding Rhyan Mansell's foot soreness leading into Round 21. Following their assessment, the Club has made the decision to rule him out for the remainder of the year.

Read Article
38. Tom Sims

38. Tom Sims

Toe Season

Sims has some medial sesamoid pain, with the plan to offload him until he is pain-free.

Read Article
49. Kaleb Smith

49. Kaleb Smith

Quad Season

Smith sustained a quad strain in the July 19 VFL game.

Read Article
2. Jacob Hopper

2. Jacob Hopper

Ankle Season

Hopper suffered a stress fracture in his ankle following the Round 14 game against Brisbane.

Read Article
8. Jonty Faull

8. Jonty Faull

Back Season

Faull will miss the remainder of the 2026 AFL season due to stress fractures in his back.

Read Article
18. Josh Gibcus

18. Josh Gibcus

Knee Season

Gibcus sustained an ACL sprain in the VFL Round 5 game.

Read Article
16. Josh Smillie

16. Josh Smillie

Quad Season

Smillie and the Club are entirely focused on setting him up for a full pre-season.

Read Article
4. Sam Lalor

4. Sam Lalor

Lalor had a collision incident involving his right knee late in the Round 22 AFL game.

Read Article
Injury: Knee
Est. Return: Unavailable
22. Sam Cumming

22. Sam Cumming

Cumming suffered a moderate grade syndesmosis injury in a tackle during Round 21. The ankle injury will not require surgery, but the Club will take the opportunity for him to go in and have his shoulder operated on.

Read Article
Injury: Ankle/Shoulder
Est. Return: Season
7. Rhyan Mansell

7. Rhyan Mansell

The Club sought specialist opinion regarding Rhyan Mansell's foot soreness leading into Round 21. Following their assessment, the Club has made the decision to rule him out for the remainder of the year.

Read Article
Injury: Foot
Est. Return: Season
38. Tom Sims

38. Tom Sims

Sims has some medial sesamoid pain, with the plan to offload him until he is pain-free.

Read Article
Injury: Toe
Est. Return: Season
2. Jacob Hopper

2. Jacob Hopper

Hopper suffered a stress fracture in his ankle following the Round 14 game against Brisbane.

Read Article
Injury: Ankle
Est. Return: Season
8. Jonty Faull

8. Jonty Faull

Faull will miss the remainder of the 2026 AFL season due to stress fractures in his back.

Read Article
Injury: Back
Est. Return: Season

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