Two Richmond veterans make up half of the exciting inclusions for Saturday afternoon's clash against Gold Coast at the MCG.
Defender Nick Vlastuin, alongside midfielder Dion Prestia, have been named to play against the Suns, as they both return from pre-season injury and rehab programs.
Alongside them will be Mykelti Lefau and Tom Brown, who will also play their first games of the 2026 AFL season.
SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL RICHMOND ROUND 2 TEAM
Lefau will add grunt to the Richmond line-up, selected for just his second AFL game since 2024, while Prestia has overcome a pre-season hamstring injury to make his first appearance for the season.
Brown earns a call-up to the side after a strong showing across half-back against Carlton in last week's fourth and final VFL practice match.
Vlastuin has been named after the Club erred on the side of caution in managing him last week.
Rhyan Mansell (wrist), Jonty Faull (suspended) and key position pair Josh Gibcus and Campbell Gray (both omitted) have come out of the team.
Richmond Executive General Manager, Football Performance, Tim Livingstone, spoke about the importance of competition for spots last week.
“We are excited about the competition for spots, and the pressure on (selection). Our backline is particularly healthy,” he said.
Senior coach Adem Yze also spoke about how Gray was used as a ruck/forward who played just 35 per cent of game time last week during his press conference yesterday.
“Campbell Gray trained as a defender all pre-season, and we have just thrown him in there for the last couple of weeks to help ‘Nank’ (due to the unavailability of Samson Ryan - injured, Tom Sims - injured, and Mykelti Lefau - suspended),” he explained.
“We will start to think of those things moving forward. That was always going to be a consideration. But that was just one game, and we will assess that post-training today.”
Vlastuin, along with Noah Balta, Ben Miller, Nathan Broad, Sam Banks and Jayden Short, have been named in defence.
Hugo Ralphsmith, Jack Ross and Kane McAuliffe make up the centreline. Skipper Toby Nankervis takes his spot in the ruck, alongside followers Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper.
Seth Campbell, Prestia, Maurice Rioli, Sam Lalor, Tom Lynch and Harry Armstrong make up the forward line.
On the interchange is Lefau, James Trezise, Steely Green, Brown and Sam Grlj.
Gray, Tyler Sonsie and Zane Peucker are the emergencies.
Richmond's Round 2 match against Gold Coast is set for the MCG this Saturday from 1.15pm (AEDT). Buy your tickets here.
The Tigers' VFL side will also play on Saturday, kicking off their 2026 campaign against the Southport Sharks at Kinetic Stadium, Frankston, from 10am (AEDT).
You can watch the AFL live on Fox Footy and Kayo Sports, with the VFL also live on Kayo Sports.
