RICHMOND has delivered Damien Hardwick his first win as coach, thumping Geelong to the tune of 51 points in an AFL practice match in the Victorian country town of Yea on Saturday.
The Cats’ wouldn’t have been too concerned by the result given that they were missing 11 first-choice players, including new skipper Cameron Ling, Brownlow medallist Gary Ablett and young gun Joel Selwood.
Brett Deledio and Richard Tambling were prolific in the middle for the Tigers, Shane Edwards and Daniel Connors provided plenty of run from half-back while Jack Riewoldt and Mitch Morton booted four and three goals respectively.
Experienced duo Corey Enright and Paul Chapman were two of best for the 2009 premiers.
Meanwhile, Essendon recorded a comfortable 40-point win over Melbourne at Visy Park in the other practice match played on Saturday.
Bombers ruckman David Hille made a successful return from a knee injury sustained in the Anzac Day clash against Collingwood last year while fellow big man Jason Laycock showed some good signs after having his 2009 season ruined by a foot injury.
The Dons had 12 individual goal kickers for the match - Patrick Ryder the most effective with three while Alwyn Davey, Brett Stanton, Tom Lonergan and Jobe Watson all chipped in with two majors each.
For the Demons, Ricky Petterd booted four goals while youngsters Jack Grimes and Jack Trengrove were impressive performers.
A concern for Melbourne will be the fitness of emerging star Cale Morton who hobbled off the field in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.
The 20-year-old will undergo scans on Sunday to determine the seriousness of the injury.
RICHMOND has received some good news with young midfielder Ben Nason cleared of a serious knee injury.
The 20-year-old hyper-extended his knee in the second quarter of the Tigers' 73-point loss to Hawthorn in the first-round NAB Cup match at Aurora Stadium on Saturday night.
The club initially feared Nason had ruptured his ACL but scans showed just bone bruising which is expected to sideline him for four weeks.
Meanwhile, youngster Adam Thompson will be rested this week after suffering concussion against the Hawks.
RICHMOND draftee Troy Taylor has been charged with one count of assault and will appear in Alice Springs Magistrates Court on February 18.
Taylor, taken with pick 51 in last year's national draft, was charged over an incident in Alice Springs on New Year's Eve in which three men were allegedly assaulted
"We knew Troy had a number of issues he was dealing with when we drafted him," Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale said.
"The Richmond Football Club has a professional network of support helping Troy address his issues but we have also advised Troy that he needs to take personal responsibility for the decisions he makes," Gale said.
Due to legal reasons the Tigers will make no further comment on the matter until after the 18-year-old appears in court.
RICHMOND vice-captain Nathan Foley is in doubt for the season opener against Carlton on March 25 after suffering a setback in his attempt to return from an ankle injury which prematurely ended his 2009 campaign.
The 24-year-old midfielder, who underwent surgery on the injury in August last year, re-visited the surgeon on Wednesday for a minor procedure.
"Nathan had been progressing well with his rehabilitation program, but has experienced some soreness in the last week," Richmond Elite Performance Manager Matthew Hornsby said.
"The medical staff decided the best course of action was for him to have minor surgery."
"The surgery will prevent him from running for the next couple of weeks, and we will continue to take a cautious approach with his recovery."
Foley played in all of the Tigers' first 14 games last year before the injury forced him to sit out the remainder of the season.
RICHMOND draftee Troy Taylor has been accused of being involved in the assault of three men at Alice Springs on New Year's Eve.
The Tigers said in a statement that they were aware of the allegations against the 18-year-old who was taken with pick 51 in November's draft.
"The Richmond Football Club takes any allegation of player misbehaviour very seriously," the statement said.
"Richmond has been in contact with the AFL and has informed it of the club's knowledge of the matter."
"As the matter is currently being investigated by the Northern Territory Police, the club will make no further comment until this investigation is complete."
RICHMOND great Matthew Richardson says his decision to hang up the boots is the right one.
The 34-year-old officially drew the curtain on his stellar 282-game career on Friday morning.
Richardson said his troublesome hamstring which restricted him to just six games in 2009 left him with no other option than to retire.
"I had a pretty ordinary medical diagnosis on Monday which sort of confirmed the gut feeling that I already had, that my body is not going to be able to stand up to another year of AFL football," Richardson said at a packed media conference at Punt Road.
"I guess I couldn't look people around the club and the supporters in the eye by saying I was ready to go when deep down I knew that I wasn't."
"I haven't got any doubts that I've made the right decision. I really did want to pull on the jumper again, but it's just not to be."
Richardson said his biggest regret was not seeing more September action.
"I would change a few things. I would have liked to play a few more finals for this great club but it wasn't to be," he said.
"The timing wasn't right. But I certainly wouldn't have ever wanted to be anywhere else but at Punt Road."
Richardson, who played in just three finals during his 17-year career, named Richmond's semi-final win over Carlton in the 2001 as his most cherished moment.
"At the MCG, a traditional rival, and to beat them in a final at the 'G was a great feeling," Richardson said.
"We had to travel to Brisbane the next week, and we all know what they were going on to achieve, three premierships in a row, so it just wasn't to be."
"If we didn't have to go up there, you never know, we might have been able to get into a grand final that year."
The popular Tigers forward leaves the club confident it is heading in the right direction under new coach Damien Hardwick, who was appointed in August.
"Damien and the new coaching staff have put together a great plan, it's a real learning and teaching environment" Richardson said.
"We've got a young group and I think they're really flourishing already."
Hardwick said Richardson was 'a giant of the game'.
"I reckon it'd be fair to say there'd be 15 other AFL coaches that are happy he's retired," Hardwick said.
"It's disappointing from a selfish point of view, I'd have loved to have coached the great man but it wasn't to be".
"He will go down as one of the greats of the club and more importantly one of the greats of the game. He is one of those guys people love to watch."
"When people come through the gates to watch a certain player, that it the mark of a champion as far as I'm concerned."
Richardson is expected to given a farewell lap of honour before the round one clash against Carlton at the MCG next season.
RICHMOND veteran Matthew Richardson has announced his retirement from AFL football.
The 34-year-old was restricted to just six appearances in 2009 due to a serious hamstring injury.
The Tigers great had previously planned to play on next season but after the first few weeks of pre-season training he knew his body could no longer cope with the rigours of the modern game.
"I wanted to see how I pulled up after a few weeks of training before I made a final decision, but the hamstring is just not good," Richardson said on the club's official website.
"It hasn't felt right when I've been running and the medical prognosis with it isn't positive."
"So, weighing everything up, it is definitely the right time for me to retire."
"I didn't want to spend the last couple of years of my career riddled with injury."
Richardson said it was a hard decision to pull the pin on his career.
"It's never easy walking away from something that you've loved doing for so long, but I consider myself fortunate to have played at such a great club as Richmond in front of such wonderfully, loyal, passionate supporters," he said.
"There are so many memories from my time at Tigerland that I will cherish."
Richardson, who played 282 games for Richmond after making his AFL debut in 1993, booted 800 goals to be second on the club's all-time leading goalkicking list behind Jack Titus (970).
He won the Jack Dyer Medal as the club's best-and-fairest in 2007 and finished joint third in the 2008 Brownlow Medal count, just two votes behind winner Adam Cooney.
He also earnt All-Australian honours on three occasions and was named in the club's Team of the Century.
RICHMOND has cut nine players from its list including utility Graham Polak.
Polak, who suffered serious head injuries when he was hit by a tram in July 2008, fought back to play the last two games of this season.
Tigers general manager of football Craig Cameron said the club would explore the possibility of recruiting Polak back as a mature-age rookie.
"We will investigate the opportunity of offering Graham Polak a position on our rookie list through the 2009 Rookie Draft, but obviously this will not be confirmed until after the draft has taken place," Cameron said.
Along with Polak, Nathan Brown, Mark Coughlan, Kayne Pettifer, Adam Pattison, Cleve Hughes, Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls, Dean Putt and Jarrod Silvester were also shown the door.
Joel Bowden and Kane Johnson have retired while Andrew Raines and Jay Schulz were traded to Brisbane and Port Adelaide respectively.
Meanwhile, small forward Robin Nahas has been promoted to Richmond's senior list.
The Tigers have picks three, 19, 35, 44, 51, 67, 72 and 83 in next month's national draft.
RICHMOND has appointed Danny Daly as its forward coach for the 2010 season.
Daly has spent the past six seasons at North Melbourne working in a variety of full-time roles including player welfare and development manager, forward scout and opposition coach.
He played football with Balwyn in the Southern Football League but his career was cut short by knee and shoulder injuries.
Daly then became an assistant coach at Balwyn before joining Collingwood as a part-time forward scout.
When Dean Laidley, who had been an assistant coach at the Magpies, took over as the Kangaroos' head coach in 2003 he asked Daly to join him.
Although he never played at AFL level, Daly is highly respected for his knowledge of players' strengths and weaknesses.
Daly is the final addition to Richmond's coaching panel which consists of Damien Hardwick (senior coach), Justin Leppitsch (backline), Brendon Lade (ruck-midfield), David Newett (Coburg, development) and Tim Clarke (development).
TonyK
Cibbuano
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