Richmond spearhead Tom Lynch will not be part of the Tigers’ “Round Zero” reunion with former coach Damien Hardwick’s new club Gold Coast next month.
Lynch will instead set his sights on playing five days later against Carlton in Richmond’s traditional season opener on March 14, but hinted there was even a chance he might not be ready until round two, when Adem Yze’s men host Port Adelaide at the MCG.
Damien Hardwick in their time together at Richmond.Credit: Eddie Jim
The 31-year-old has undergone multiple foot surgeries in a “frustrating” period since last playing in round four last season, and his absence was a major reason Richmond failed to make the finals.
“All things are tracking well, [but] I’ve clearly missed a lot of football,” Lynch said.
“I need to get some good training under my belt and some of that football conditioning. We don’t want to rush back. We want to get as many games this year as we can, and if I miss opening round, so be it.
“My foot and bone’s completely healed – it’s just getting conditioning [that it needs]. Clearly, I haven’t run for nine months, so I need to get a lot of miles back in my leg. If we wanted to really push, we’d get up for that Round Zero, but we want to get myself playing the whole year … I’ll be cherry ripe once I get out there.”
Lynch said there would not be a management plan, such as sitting out the odd game, once he did return to the field.
The Tigers are set to roll out a new-look attack in the post-Jack Riewoldt era in 2024, with first-year coach Yze reviving Hardwick’s past experiment of playing usual defender Noah Balta up forward.
Noah Balta will start the new season up forward.Credit: AFL Photos
Ex-Hawthorn recruit Jacob Koschitzke appears to have the inside running on the other key-position spot, with Samson Ryan also an option to help Lynch kick a winning score.
“Noah’s been really good. He’s trained well, and obviously, we got ‘Kosi’ in from Hawthorn, and he’s doing a great job, and they’ve been able to get a lot of training under the belt together and are forming a really good partnership so far,” Lynch said.
“Noah is a great talent. He’s at the point in his career where I feel like he’s going to take the next step and really develop into a consistent player.
“At his best, we know how good a player he is. He’s played a bit of forward, [but] he’s predominantly played his career down back. ‘Ooze’ (Yze) really likes him forward and pitching in, in the ruck, where he can use that athleticism and power.”
Lynch, a former Sun, would have liked to play in the club’s first clash with Hardwick, and was full of praise for the triple premiership coach.
“Dimma’s had a massive impact on my life and certainly Richmond Football Club,” he said.
“He’s an incredible coach but obviously, he’s gone to the Gold Coast. It would have been great to play against him, and it will obviously be different, but we know at footy clubs, you have to move on pretty quickly. Guys come and go every year, that’s the nature of the business.”
There is intrigue about how the Tigers will perform under Yze, particularly after winning only 10 games and slumping to 13th place last season.
Koschitzke was the sole trade-period addition after Richmond recruited ex-Giants Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper on seven-year deals in 2022.
Those acquisitions played a role in the club not making its first pick in last year’s draft until No.40.
“At this time of year, everyone feels like they’re going really well. We feel like we’ve had a great pre-season,” Lynch said.
“‘Ooze’ [has taken over] and we’ve got ‘Newy’ [Chris Newman] and ‘Ziebs’ [Jack Ziebell] come in as new coaches, and they’ve brought some fresh ideas, and I think it’s really got the boys excited and energised, so we’ll put no ceiling on it.
“We’ve got a bit of work to do.
“Last year, we clearly didn’t make finals, so we’ve been working our arses off to try and get back, and we’ll see how we go … the proof will be in the pudding.”
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