Mixed news for injured Tigers
6:41:58 PM Mon 26 May, 2003
Samantha Lane
afl.com.au
Richmond may face another match without Wayne Campbell and Mark Coughlan, and star ruckman Greg Stafford will need to prove his fitness before the Tigers take on Sydney at the MCG on Saturday night.
But in better news for the Tigers, All-Australian big man Brad Ottens took a major step in his recovery from a serious back complaint by completing his first full training session on Monday.
An undermanned Richmond was defeated by the West Coast Eagles at Subiaco Oval in round nine after Stafford and Coughlan failed to recover from injury, while skipper Campbell re-injured his calf during the match.
Speaking before the Tigers had a light session at Oakleigh Cricket Ground on Monday, Richmond football manager Greg Hutchison said influential bigman Stafford was the most likely to recover before the weekend.
“Stafford looks like he’s going to be okay. It was line ball (last week), we probably needed a few more days with him. Hopefully he’ll be able to train tonight and then do something again on Wednesday. He should be right.”
“I would suggest Stafford would be pretty good, and it might be a line ball with Campbell and Coughlan.”
Stafford hyper-extended his right knee in round eight, and Coughlan rolled his right ankle during training last week. Both were late withdrawals before West Coast beat their side by 52 points.
Campbell left the field during the match after aggravating the injury that had sidelined him for a fortnight.
“Wayne’s just got some tightness in the calf more than anything else, and rather than push him out there we just took him off more as a precaution. We’re not too sure how he’ll be, it just depends on how he trains,” Hutchison said.
“Coughlan’s just got a bit of a problem with his ankle, but we’re optimistic he should be okay.”
Hutchison was adamant the club had not rushed Campbell back prematurely, and said the likelihood of the trio’s return would become clearer during the week.
“He (Campbell) did all the work to suggest he was going to be okay.”
“We haven’t done any physical work with them just yet, until you put them out on the track it’s going to be pretty hard to have an estimation on how they’re going to be.”
The Tigers lost the adaptable Ottens, previously their number one ruckman and talented forward, before the home-and-away season began. He was expected to miss the first half of the year after suffering a prolapsed disc in his back and undergoing micro-surgery.
Key position player Ben Holland resumed in the VFL at the weekend after having his recovery from a knee injury interrupted by a quadricep complaint.
Tall Ray Hall was named as an emergency for the Tigers on Saturday, but did not travel with the side after experiencing groin soreness.
Richmond is also anticipating the return of Duncan Kellaway, who played in the VFL reserves on Sunday after battling hamstring problems all season.
6:41:58 PM Mon 26 May, 2003
Samantha Lane
afl.com.au
Richmond may face another match without Wayne Campbell and Mark Coughlan, and star ruckman Greg Stafford will need to prove his fitness before the Tigers take on Sydney at the MCG on Saturday night.
But in better news for the Tigers, All-Australian big man Brad Ottens took a major step in his recovery from a serious back complaint by completing his first full training session on Monday.
An undermanned Richmond was defeated by the West Coast Eagles at Subiaco Oval in round nine after Stafford and Coughlan failed to recover from injury, while skipper Campbell re-injured his calf during the match.
Speaking before the Tigers had a light session at Oakleigh Cricket Ground on Monday, Richmond football manager Greg Hutchison said influential bigman Stafford was the most likely to recover before the weekend.
“Stafford looks like he’s going to be okay. It was line ball (last week), we probably needed a few more days with him. Hopefully he’ll be able to train tonight and then do something again on Wednesday. He should be right.”
“I would suggest Stafford would be pretty good, and it might be a line ball with Campbell and Coughlan.”
Stafford hyper-extended his right knee in round eight, and Coughlan rolled his right ankle during training last week. Both were late withdrawals before West Coast beat their side by 52 points.
Campbell left the field during the match after aggravating the injury that had sidelined him for a fortnight.
“Wayne’s just got some tightness in the calf more than anything else, and rather than push him out there we just took him off more as a precaution. We’re not too sure how he’ll be, it just depends on how he trains,” Hutchison said.
“Coughlan’s just got a bit of a problem with his ankle, but we’re optimistic he should be okay.”
Hutchison was adamant the club had not rushed Campbell back prematurely, and said the likelihood of the trio’s return would become clearer during the week.
“He (Campbell) did all the work to suggest he was going to be okay.”
“We haven’t done any physical work with them just yet, until you put them out on the track it’s going to be pretty hard to have an estimation on how they’re going to be.”
The Tigers lost the adaptable Ottens, previously their number one ruckman and talented forward, before the home-and-away season began. He was expected to miss the first half of the year after suffering a prolapsed disc in his back and undergoing micro-surgery.
Key position player Ben Holland resumed in the VFL at the weekend after having his recovery from a knee injury interrupted by a quadricep complaint.
Tall Ray Hall was named as an emergency for the Tigers on Saturday, but did not travel with the side after experiencing groin soreness.
Richmond is also anticipating the return of Duncan Kellaway, who played in the VFL reserves on Sunday after battling hamstring problems all season.
