Richmond Tigers News

Brandon Ellis re-signs with the Tigers for another two years.

"They started talking to my manager the week before the Melbourne game ... and I said whatever they offer me, just take it - I want to sign,'' Ellis told the Herald Sun.

"We are on the verge of something special in the next few years, I think.

"We've just got so much confidence in where the group is going. The last two weeks we've played the brand of footy we knew we could.

"The boys believe in each other and we want to share the success together that is hopefully around the corner.''

Jake King signs a new one-year deal with Richmond, extending his tenure at the club to eight years.

As part of the panel that decided to appoint recently sacked coach Mark Neeld in September 2011, Garry Lyon defends the decision that was made at the time.

"Selecting coaches is the toughest job of all. I won't apologise for the decision ever. That is life. Unfortunately it didn't work," Lyon said.

"I'm really disappointed that it hasn't worked. I thought that Mark ticked all the boxes for an untried coach but there is the great unknown when you get on your own and you sit in the chair and sadly for Mark and for the footy club, because the ramifications are dramatic, it hasn't worked."

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says Ivan Maric is fresher this year compared to the same time last year.

"He's probably the freshest he's been," Hardwick said.

"Last year towards the latter stages of the year he did get very tired because he had a huge burden to bear.

"This year it's been a bit of a slower build up for him but he's starting to hit some good form now which we're excited by."

Trent Cotchin signs a new deal with the Tigers, keeping him at the club until the end of 2015.

"I'm very excited. The club's going somewhere, and I want to be a part of the success that all involved with the Tigers crave," Cotchin said.

"We want to keep this young group together over the next period of our careers."

Trent Cotchin says comments he made during the off-season that he would consider retirement if the Tigers won a premiership in the next three years were "tongue in cheek".

"I'm looking forward to it being over as well. I reckon if we won a premiership in the next three years I'd pretty much be done," Cotchin had told Emma Quayle.

Cotchin now says reaction to those comments had been over the top.

"The way some people have reacted is the incorrect way," Cothin said.

"We spoke about the book over the off-season last year and it was more so a tongue in cheek line where we were talking about how hard footy is becoming."

Dylan Grimes has suffered a setback with his foot injury and will be sidelined for up to two months.

Chris Knights will miss the rest of the season after dislocating a kneecap and rupturing his patella tendon against Port Adelaide.

Knights' injury will pave the way for former Bomber Sam Lonergan to be elevated to the senior list.

Nick Vlastuin becomes the round 7 NAB AFL Rising Star nominee after tallying 23 disposals, 11 marks and a goal in a win against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.

"Nick has been excellent since arriving at the club. His dedication to training, and his commitment to learning and finding ways to improve his game, is a real credit to him," Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said.

After coming under scrutiny for his average form, Brett Deledio hits back at his critics with 32 disposals in a 41-point win against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.

"You definitely hear it, there's no doubt about that," Deledio said of his critics.

"It's hard … you've got to be careful not to bite back because that's what they're looking for.

"I've had terrific support from 'Dimma' (Damien Hardwick) and internally from the playing group and assistant coaches, my family's been great support; I worry about what they think of me and not what the outside world does."

Nathan Foley will make his comeback against Port Adelaide in round 7 almost a year since he last played at senior level.

"He's trained incredibly hard over a long period of time and we have been what we feel has been cautious," Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said.

"We've held him back, mainly because of his importance to the side.

"Last week was his first full game and he played three quarters the week prior, so we're pretty confident that he's ready to go."

Chris Knights says he is excited at finally reaching 100 games as a Tiger after starting his career in Adelaide.

"To play 100 games was something when I got drafted that I never expected to achieve," Knights said.

"I was able to get involved in the system and play some footy and then I got struck down with injury and form, and it seemed like something I may not achieve.

"It was a really special time for me and I was really happy to do it with the Richmond footy club."

Trent Cotchin says contract negotiations with Richmond are in motion.

"It's just something that will get done in the future, whether or not it's in the next couple of weeks or in the next three months," Cotchin said.

"It's not something I'm stressing about, to be totally honest. The powers that be will make that decision at the appropriate time."

Jack Riewoldt admits he can get carried away on the field but that it's just a part of his personality.

"I play with emotion and I reckon I'd be a pretty boring person and a pretty boring player if I didn't do that," Riewoldt said.

"It's a doubled-edged sword, AFL, and there's definitely cries for players to have a bit more personality but if you show a bit of personality you can be shot down pretty quickly."

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick fumes after believing that his side was robbed of a late goal in the Tigers' one-point loss to Fremantle.

Matt White's 23rd-minute shot on goal in the last term appeared likely to either bounce through or hit the post.

Instead, it crashed into the legs of the goal umpire and back into play. Fremantle's Stephen Hill picked the ball up and walked it through for a rushed behind, reducing the home side's lead to one point.

"I know it went through for a goal," Hardwick said.

"It crossed the line. Have you see the replay? Maybe we should have called a review, you would have thought. No? Seriously, in a tight game? Joke.

"There is a system in place. Use it, or don't bother."

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says highly rated draft pick Nick Vlastuin is poised to make his debut.

"He's an impressive individual there's no doubt," Hardwick said.

"He's got some areas of his game he still needs to work on, but I think he's a ready AFL player to a degree."

Reece Conca will miss at least a month of football with a right foot injury.

"The good thing is we picked it up this early. It didn't develop into a crack or stress fracture," Richmond's elite performance manager Peter Burge.

Luke McGuane says he is enjoying his new role up forward for the Tigers, crediting former Melbourne development coach Mark Williams for the move.

"I think I did need change, definitely, and I did start as a forward, and Mark Williams came along and said, 'Well, let's get you back up forward'," McGuane said.

"Damien [Hardwick] was really good about it and just said, 'Yeah, let's put you up forward'. Initially, it was [for] forward pressure and that type of thing because I like to compete, so he put me up there and I've enjoyed it and now I'm starting to get some rewards on the end of it.

"It has come later in the career but I've enjoyed the change. I had eight years down back - I got drafted as a forward so it was good to get back up there."

Reece Conca says Richmond's new found depth in 2013 has contributed to his improved form.

"I think early on in my career, we weren't going so well, we didn't have that great of depth," Conca said.

"It was more the pressure of having to perform and try and help the team win games so early in my career.

"Especially this pre-season and the last two games, with the depth we've got, I think I've become a bit more relaxed and confident in my ability and I've put out a couple of performances."

Jack Riewoldt says his goal as a player now is team success and to find ways to help his teammates improve.

"Early on in your career, you look to get a game, then you want to have an impact, and then you want to be regarded as a senior player, week in, week out," he said.

"And then it gets to the stage where you haven't had as much [team] success as what you want, and you start to look outside the box a little bit. How can I improve Jake King? How can I improve Tyrone Vickery?"

Richmond rookie recruits Ricky Petterd and Orren Stephenson have been promoted to the senior and Tigers skipper Trent Cotchin believes both will get plenty of opportunities this year.

"They've both played some really good footy over the pre-season and they've trained really well and almost haven't missed a beat, so I'm sure that will come into its own next week when the side is put out," Cotchin said.

"Big O has been fantastic; he's going to be there as a support for big Ivan Maric, and Ricky has come into the side and played a defensive role for us.

"I think it's a fresh start for him and he's pretty excited about it, and hopefully both get an opportunity pretty early on in the season."

Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin is voted as the favourite to win the Brownlow by fellow captains of the other 17 AFL clubs.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick believes Dustin Martin is set to have a standout 2013 season with the midfielder finding some much needed stability in his life.

"The fact is he's working incredibly hard on the field and off the field he's started a part-time job, which we're really excited about," Hardwick said.

"We think this will be the making of him as a player. He's had a fantastic pre-season, we certainly look forward to him having a good season in 2013."

New Richmond captain Trent Cotchin says he has been meeting regularly with cricketer Simon Katich for leadership advice.

"(Richmond assistant coach) Wayne Campbell came up with the idea at the start of last year, that it would be good to have someone who is quite similar in personality and has had a fair bit of experience in leadership in a different caper, and we came up with Simon," Cotchin said.

"He has been captain of a few sides and been around a lot of the stars of Australian cricket, and I catch up with him to talk about life in general and about any feedback he has for me."

Former Power Troy Chaplin will make his debut for the Tigers in their upcoming NAB Cup against Hawthorn.

"He's a very good player but he's also got outstanding leadership qualities and will further help guys such as Alex Rance, Ben Griffiths, Jake Batchelor, all these types of players around him," Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said.

"We're looking forward to solidifying our back six with his presence. We'll look to get three quarters into him the following week."

Richmond defender David Astbury is in doubt for round one after suffering a minor foot injury.

"It's very frustrating that I'll miss the opportunity to (push my case for selection), but hopefully I'll still be considered and get an opportunity soon," Astbury said.

Ricky Petterd says he is relishing playing as a defender at Richmond.

"It's rejuvenated me, just to start fresh and it's been a new challenge for me to learn their structures after playing forward for four or five years," Petterd said.


"It's something I've missed when I went a bit stale up forward and it's good to be running off half-back again."

Tigers midfield coach midfield coach Danny Daly says Richmond recruit and rookie Ricky Petterd has impressed since crossing over from Melbourne.

"We thought about what role might be best for him and we thought about a wing role, and someone mentioned he played a lot of footy across half back as a junior," Daly said.

"We've tried him down there and the two games we've had so far, he's probably been our best player, to be honest.

"He's putting his hand up to be elevated to the senior list and he'll play across half back on Friday night and all things going well, he's giving himself every opportunity to be upgraded."

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick slams online rumours surrounding Dustin Martin suggesting, amongst other things, that the young midfielder was under surveillance from police, about to be sacked by Richmond, and being investigated by the Australian Crime Commission.

"He's fine. He's a resilient individual but all we can deal in is the facts," Hardwick said.

"It's disappointing - social media, it's un-Australian. It's just whingeing, whining. I can't stand it."

Richmond are confident Nathan Foley will be back playing football again as he recovers from a partially torn achilles tendon, but are unsure when.

"Obviously with the achilles, it does take some time," Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said.

"We're in no rush with Nathan, he's an important player for us and we've just got to make sure he gets the stability back in his lower calf and we'll work from there.

"We've got no doubt he'll come back and be a fine contributor for us."

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says recruit Ricky Petterd's versatility at both ends of the ground will be an asset for the Tigers.

"He's been really impressive in the drills we've done," Hardwick said.

"Earlier in his career he played down back and he played quite well so we're certainly looking forward to seeing how he goes down there.

"We think he can add something, he's a good height, he's a versatile type player and we think he'll be a solid contributor for us."

Trent Cotchin will lead Richmond for the first time as captain against the Indigenous All Stars in Alice Springs who will be captained by Lance Franklin.

"To get the opportunity to be captain of the Indigenous side, with some of the players that are going to be playing, to lead them out is an unbelievable experience for myself and for my family and friends," Franklin said.

"There are a lot of young kids in the squad. I see myself as a little bit older now – I've just turned 26 – so I'll be giving a lot of the kids coming through a lot of advice. Not necessarily on how to play, but just things away from [football] too."

The AFL places a ban on gloves, including those worn by Travis Cloke, deemed to provide an unfair advantage when marking the ball.

Richmond champion Matthew Richardson says the study conducted by the AFL to arrive at this conclusion was a waste of time and money.

"Why was study needed to tell @AFL that gloves provide more grip?" Richardson said on Twitter.

"Of course they do. Why wear them otherwise. Definitely help with marking."

New Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin says his priority as captain is to set the standard at training and to build relationships with his teammates.

"The most important thing in my eyes from a leader's perspective is the way that they train and play and get everything done," Cotchin said.

"But I'm also massive on relationships. You don't have to be best mates with everyone ... but you have to have something to do with them so you can show a general interest in their life.

"If you can have that relationship going into games and so forth it makes it a lot easier to give someone some constructive feedback - whether it's positive or negative."

Sam Lonergan says he is angry and still not sure why Essendon delisted him.

"I was very frustrated and there was a sense of being angry towards that decision," he said.

"I was shocked because at the time I believed I still should be in that team, but I'd seen it coming.

"When I started getting inklings about my future it was frustrating and a bit of a shock to be experiencing that, and at times it was very tough.

"Even now I still probably don't understand why it happened, but that's footy and the way it works."

After enduring a raft of injuries including his knee, wrist, thumb, cheekbone, knee again, foot and adductor, Jake King says 2012 was a torrid year for him.

"It was the worst year I've had," King said.

"Sunday mornings pretty much involved moccasins, tracksuit pants and just lying on the couch. It was horrible."

Currently recovering from five post-season operations, Jake King says he hopes to get his body right in time for the opening game of 2013.

"I'm hoping to play a few of the NAB Cup games and get my fitness up and get ready for round one," King said.

"That's providing everything goes well and there's no setbacks, but I should get a couple of games there."

Ricky Petterd is picked up by Richmond in the rookie draft.

"In the first few weeks, I spent the whole time getting my body right so then I could start training," Petterd said.

"I've had a couple of good mates who are personnel trainers and fitness fanatics so they've been taking me training, which is great.

"When you get delisted from a club, you've got a lot to prove and that's what I wanted to do."

Ben Cousins will make a brief playing return in 20123 when he fronts up for two games for the Mullewa Saints in WA's Great Northern Football League.

Crows recruit Angus Graham admits he has some catching up to do when it comes to fitness at his new club.

"The fitness of the group probably surprised me, coming from Richmond. As a core group as a whole I think [the Crows are] a lot fitter group than what I'm used to," Graham said.

"I've probably had three or four weeks longer break so I'm probably still trying to catch up."

Bachar Houli is recognised for his community leadership with the inaugural Award for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding.

The award was established by the University of South Australia's Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding and the Australia Day Council to recognise Australians who contribute to social harmony and community cohesion.

"This award is a credit to the groundbreaking work Bachar is doing to enhance understanding of his religion and increase social inclusion within communities around Australia," AFL national community engagement manager Jason Mifsud said.

"As an Australia Post AFL multicultural ambassador, Bachar works closely with Islamic communities to develop young football talent, while pioneering ways of bridging any divide between Muslim and non-Muslim communities."

Richmond has added Ivan Maric and Dylan Grimes to a leadership group that will be without former skipper Chris Newman.

"Both players fully deserve their inclusion in the leadership group, for the respect they have within the club and the way they conduct themselves, both on and off the field," Richmond's general manager of football Craig Cameron said.

"Dylan is an outstanding young leader and a fine example to the developing players on our list, and Ivan has made an enormous impact at the club in only 12 months."

Luckles Richmond defender Dylan Grimes has suffered another setback, having surgery after a small split in his left hamstring tendon while training.

"Given Dylan's history with hamstring injuries, we believe surgery was the best option," said Richmond's elite performance manager Peter Burge.

"We won't know the extent of his recovery time until it settles from the surgery.

"Despite the setback, Dylan is keen to start his rehabilitation and is hopeful of being ready for the start of the 2013 season."

Brett Deledio says teammate Trent Cotchin will lead Richmond to their next premiership after he was named skipper on Friday.

"I texted him last night and said: 'Look mate, if you're going to be captain I'll back you the whole way and I believe you'll be the one to lead us to our next flag'. I said that to him and I'll say it here today," Deledio said.

"I back Trent to the hilt with what he can do for this club."

Trent Cotchin will captain Richmond in 2013 and Brett Deledio will be the team's vice-captain but will break with tradition and stick with his No. 9 jumper instead of No. 17.

"When I thought about it ... I've always been really comfortable with the fact I've been No.9 since being here and I was No.9 prior to being here," Cotchin said.

"I love seeing little kids with the No.9 on their backs and I think it's a part of me now."

Richmond have reportedly told young midfielder Dustin Martin to stop socialising with troubled former teammate Daniel Connors.

"Dusty is my best mate, but I don't think the club is real keen on him hanging out with me,'' Connors said.

"They told him he's not allowed to hang out with me, but I can still speak to him on the phone. I still speak to him every day.''

Connors, meanwhile, says he longs for another shot at playing AFL football.

"I didn't think I'd miss is that much, but I've been out of the system for a while now and I'd definitely rather be in there than not,'' Connors said.

"I'm just hoping that somewhere down the line I get another chance. Being out of the game and missing it, you see how lucky you are to be in the system."

Tiger Bachar Houli says Trent Cotchin would be worthy captain of the club.

"Trent isn't as vocal but through his actions he's very encouraging and he leads by example," Houli said.

"Trent isn't the captain yet, but hopefully he gets to captain because I think he's the best for it at this stage."

A visa hiccup has prevented Richmond defender Bachar Houli from making a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca.

"I was packed up and ready to go to do my first pilgrimage," Houli said.

"We have to do it once in a lifetime ... it's basically following what our prophet Mohammed did 1400 years ago.

"Three or four million people get to do this every year; unfortunately I didn't get my opportunity this year."

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says emerging star Dustin Martin needs to find something outside of football to keep him occupied.

"The off-season is the area where we have got to help him with, and he needs to find something outside of footy to keep him interested," Hardwick told SEN radio.

"The reality of the situation is that he has got to learn to manage himself and he has done that reasonably well, moved out midway through last year and bought himself a nice house, and he's got to learn life skills like a number of our younger players."

Luke McGuane, Tom Derickx and Matt White have signed new one-year deals to stay at Richmond.

Despite being unsigned, Luke McGuane's manager believes his client is set to remain at the Tigers.

"He is a required player at Richmond and he will be there next year," Robbie D'Orazio of RCM Sports Management said.

"We're expecting to reach an agreement."

New Adelaide recruit Angus Graham says he isn't content to just be a backup ruckman to Sam Jacobs and will fight for the number one ruck spot at the Crows.

"I've been number one before and I still think I'm a very good player and can take his spot, so I'm not just going to allow him to walk straight in, I'm going to fight over the pre-season and put my best foot forward," Graham said.

"If I'm playing better footy than him I expect to get a game … I'm sure if the coaches think I'm playing better they'll play me."

Richmond big man Angus Graham is traded to Adelaide after playing just one game in 2012.

Graham signs a two-year deal with Adelaide after an exchange of late NAB AFL Draft picks between the clubs.

Richmond has extended the contract of key position player David Astbury until the end of 2014.

"Not only for his football ability, but also his excellent character," Richmond's general manager of football Craig Cameron said about the club's decision to extend Astbury's contract.

"After a bad run with injury, he's now fit and really looking forward to a full pre-season. We expect him to come on in leaps and bounds throughout 2013."

St Kilda star Brendon Goddard heads the list of six restricted free agents released by the AFL which also includes Essendon's Angus Monfries, Melbourne's Brent Moloney, Port Adelaide duo Danyle Pearce and Troy Chaplin and Richmond's Luke McGuane.

Richmond midfielder Trent Cotchin says he wants the captaincy role vacated by Chris Newman.

"We've come a long way in the last four or five years, and we're going places as a group and obviously the challenge is to perform against those better sides in the competition," Cotchin said.

"If I can be leading the troops out every week, it's something I'd love to do at some stage in my career; whether it's next year or in five years' time or never, that's how it will be."

Tiger Trent Cotchin wins the AFL Coaches Association's Player of the Year Award for 2012 and credits his teammates for his most consistent year so far.

"We took some massive ground this year with regards to stats and the key performance indicators we think are most important going into games," Cotchin said.

"I think that's the reason why you start to play more consistent football; you believe in the guys you're going out with and also the coaching staff who put you on the track every week."

Richmond midfielder Daniel Jackson is the inaugural recipient of the Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award.

According to AFL chief Andrew Demetriou, he award commemorates Stynes' work in the community and is bestowed on the player "who demonstrates the values of Jim Stynes in his commitment to the community and understanding the value of helping others".

Luke McGuane has been offered a new contract to remain at Richmond despite rumours that he would be delisted or traded.

Veteran midfielder Shane Tuck has signed a one-year contract extension with Richmond.

Shane has worked as hard as anyone to earn his place in the Richmond team and the consistency of his performances this year has been outstanding," football manager Craig Cameron said.

"Shane's ability to win the ball and bring his teammates into the play has been integral to the improvement shown by the entire midfield group this year."

At just 20 years of age, Jack Darling has already proven he's not afraid of the big stage and shapes as a key weapon when West Coast takes on the Pies.

"It's hard to believe he's only in his second year of football," teammate Daniel Kerr said of Darling.

"The way he goes about it, his mental attitude and his physical characteristics as well - how strong he is - you'd think he'd been in the system for seven or eight years.

"If he keeps improving the way he is at the minute, we could have a pretty special player on our hands."

Richmond has moved to lock Trent Cotchin in to a long-term deal, opening discussions about a contract extension with the young star.

"We have had chats so we are at the table talking. It's obviously going to take some time. There is a fair bit to go through but it will all get done in due time," Cotchin's manager Anthony McConville told the Herald Sun.

"I would imagine we would be able to crunch a deal. I would be confident of that, but we need to go through all our normal processes. We haven't got any timeframes."

Richmond midfielder Shane Tuck wins the 2012 CGU Unsung Hero of the Year as voted by panelists from AFL Insider who decide on the players who did their job without fuss and helped their team in their bid for victory.

Richmond has announced several list changes, with six players cut from its list.

With Kel Moore and Brad Miller both retired, and Daniel Connors departing mid-season, the Tigers have cut ruckman Andrew Browne, Jeromey Webberley, Dean MacDonald and rookies Addam Maric, Piva Wright and Gibson Turner.

"The Richmond Football Club acknowledges the contribution these players have made, and wishes them all the best in their future endeavours," the club said.

Trent Cotchin has won his second successive Jack Dyer Medal, beating home fellow midfielder Brett Deledio but says he craves team success more.

"I'm very proud to win the award, but it's a team sport," Cotchin said.

"The moment we start playing finals, these awards will mean that little bit more."

Richmond midfielder Trent Cotchintakes out the AFL Coaches' Association best player award ahead of Collingwood's Dayne Beams and Gold Coast Sun Gary Ablett.

Outgoing Tigers skipper Chris Newman says Trent Cotchin isn't a certainty to take over, but he's in the mix.

"Anyone of the boys in our leadership group could step into my shoes and lead the club forward," Newman said.

"'Cotchy' is certainly one of those; he leads naturally no doubt. Brett Deledio is another one who'd be keen to take that position too.

"But I think any of those boys could quite easily fill my shoes but not only do that but do a better job than I did."

Jack Riewoldt secures his second Coleman Medal after kicking six goals against Port Adelaide in Richmond's final game for 2012 to take his season tally to 65, ahead of Fremantle's Matthew Pavlich and Geelong's Tom Hawkins, both on 62.

Chris Newman will give up the Richmond captaincy after Richmond's last game for 2012 against Port Adelaide.

"It's probably something I've been thinking about for a little while. I think it's just the right time," Newman said in a statement issued by the Tigers.

"I've had the privilege of being captain for four years, and I think whoever takes over this role can lead the boys into the success that I think is coming.

"I still pinch myself a bit. To captain an AFL side, let alone the Richmond Football Club, is mind-blowing when I think of it.

"I don't think I'd step away from the role if I didn't think there would be players who could lead the way. Whoever that player is, I've got the utmost confidence that they'll do an even better job than I did."

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says the Tigers won't go out of their way to help Jack Riewoldt win the Coleman Medal against Port Adelaide in their final regular season game of the season.

"If he wins it, he wins it. It's not something we're worried about," Hardwick said.

"We're just interested in finishing the season on a good note, and getting the four points."

Nathan Foley has ended speculation over his trade value by signing a new three-year deal with the Tigers.

"[There are]… some really exciting times coming up, so I was really excited to sign with the club," he said.

"They've been fantastic and I'm looking forward to the future."

Despite sitting second in the Coleman Medal race, Tiger Jack Riewoldt says he is disappointed with an inconsistent season.

"It's been very inconsistent," Riewoldt said of his season.

"In terms of kicking goals, I've kicked the second most in the competition, but in terms of where I want to be and where the club wants me to be … I wouldn't rate it a failure but it's not up to the standard I've set myself.

Richmond's Jake King has played his last game in 2012 after undergoing surgery on a fractured toe.

"Jake presented to recovery on Sunday with pain in his foot and a scan showed a fracture in his toe," Richmond's elite performance manager Matt Hornsby said.

"He had surgery [Monday] morning to repair the fracture and will miss the last two games."

Dedicated Tigers Brad Miller and Kelvin Moore have announced their retirements, effective immediately.

Richmond midfielder Reece Conca will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his toe.

"It's a relatively short-term problem, but with three games go to it means he won't play again this season," Tigers elite performance manager Matt Hornsby said.

"He'll be ready for a full pre-season in season 2013."

Bulldogs assistant coach Steven King refutes claims the club has turned its back on Tom Liberatore.

"By no means have we just said, 'See you later mate, we'll see you in six weeks.' We want to do what's best for Tom and what's best for the club," King said.

"The main lesson is how privileged you are to play League footy and give him a little bit of a taste of what a normal 20-year-old's life is, and that's go out in the workforce.

"I'm sure he'll come through it a lot better person."

Daniel Jackson says teammate Trent Cotchin deserves to be amongst the game's current greats such as Gary Ablett, Chris Judd, Dane Swan and Scott Pendlebury.

"If he played in a successful era like those guys have, we probably would be naming him with that bunch," Jackson said.

"Hopefully for us he keeps playing better and better and we keep winning more games and start playing finals and you'll see Trent Cotchin's number on many a kid's back."

Ex-Tiger Daniel Connors will return to country football this weekend, making his debut with Shepparton United.

Shepparton United football manager Jason Kelly told the Shepparton News that the Demons were unconcerned with Connors' off-field record.

"We believe we've got a really good structure at United,'' Kelly said.

''We've got the best coach in the competition and Marc Quarrell has a no-nonsense approach to everyone — whether you're the 19th man, the 21st man or a superstar.

''Our culture and what we've built over the last two years will, obviously, be a beneficial factor and a great influence on Daniel.''

Kelvin Moore has had 10 operations on his hips, culminating in the most recent significatn operation in which his pelvis was broken to enable a reconfiguring of the hips' components.

"I think I'm a guinea pig," Moore said.

"I don't think there's any other players who've had the same operation. I'm a bit of a first, I think."

30-year old Richmond midfielder Shane Tuck doesn't want to talk contracts until the end of the season, preferring his football to speak for itself.

"I've got a pretty strong mindset at the moment," he said.

"I don't want to talk contracts; I just want to play every week. Whatever happens happens, mate."

Paul Roos says Jack Riewoldt's petulence is hurting the Tigers and must be wearing thin with coach Damien Hardwick.

"Damien Hardwick must be getting sick of it, because I'm sure he would have talked to him about it over and over again," Roos said.

"We know Jack's a competitive kid, but you've got to channel your competitiveness in the right direction (and) there's no doubt he channels it in the wrong direction sometimes. If you're a Richmond fan, you see it far too often."

Tiger Brandon Ellis is the round 17 NAB AFL Rising star collecting 21 possessions against North Melbourne.

"My goal at the start of the year was to play a few games. One or two would have been ideal, I would have been happy with that but to play the first 16 has been unreal," Ellis said.


"It's actually life changing and I'm just glad the coaches have been believing in me and backing me in week in, week out."

Dustin Martin says he has learnt from this mistakes and can't wait to play football with the Tigers again.

"I was just really disappointed in myself that I let the whole club down - all the boys and the coaches," Martin said.

"It was tough to sit in front of them and face them, but I've learned a lot from it . . . It's been pretty frustrating training, doing long runs on the weekends, and knowing there's no other reason why I'm doing it . . . it's just because of the stupid mistake."

Damien Hardwick says he was sickened to see midfielder Nathan Foley pull up with an Achilles injury at training.

"To see him pull up the way he did was sickening to the stomach," Hardwick said.

"It was so disappointing because he'd put in an enormous amount of work. He's a diligent young man.

"As you can imagine, he's pretty flat, but the positive is he can get it fixed and he'll be able to play for a number of years."

Richmond midfielder Nathan Foley will miss the rest of the season after partially rupturing the Achilles tendon in his right leg at training.

"It's disappointing because he's actually been going really well over the last couple of weeks. He's been feeling strong and running well, with minimal pain," Richmond's elite performance manager Matthew Hornsby said.

"He'll have surgery to repair the tendon, which means he won't play for the remainder of 2012, but we know there'll be no problems to be ready to go for the start of 2013."

Richmond football manager Craig Cameron admits the Tigers are sometimes concerned about Dustin Martin's wellbeing.

"Dustin needs to have structure in his life," Cameron told SEN radio.

"The times that we might become a little bit concerned are when the season ends and there's not the training programs that he's got in place or the games.

"But we're working with him constantly to try and put some structure into his life and to be more active with some of the things he's doing away from football."

Channel Nine reports that Daniel Connors and Richmond coach Damien Hardwick almost came to blows and had to be restrained after a heated discussion prior to Connors departing from the club.

The manager of ex-Tiger Daniel Connors Anthony McConville says his client may go public with his side of the story.

"It's important to let the dust settle and just see what takes place," McConville said.

"At this stage that's premature, he needs to sit back and get back into normal life and then I suppose a decision will be made as to what he does with his football career."

Daniel Connors walks away from the Richmond Tigers after both him and Dustin Martin missed a training session as a result of taking sleeping medication the night before.

"We have set a standard as a football club and there is a clear expectation that our players meet that standard," Richmond football manager Craig Cameron said.

"Adhering to training requirements is not negotiable. Daniel has failed to meet club expectations on a number of occasions and this latest incident can't be considered in isolation."

Richmond ruckman/forward Tyrone Vickery will undergo a shoulder reconstruction, missing the rest of 2012.

"We have tried to manage Tyrone through this season with his shoulder, but, ultimately, it was impacting his performance and the best course of action is to get it fixed now, so he is able to complete a full 2013 pre-season," Richmond's general manager of football, Craig Cameron, said.

Richmond has offered mature-aged recruit Steven Morris a contract extension which will keep him at the club until the end of 2014.

MRP chairman Mark Fraser says medical reports played significant roles in Taylor Walker's three-match ban for his sling tackle on Tiger Steven Morris.

"A subsequent medical report made us increase the loading a little bit to medium," Fraser told The Verdict on AFL.com.au.

"While you can see from the initial vision that it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong, the subsequent medical report showed there was something going on there."

Taylor Walker faces a three-match ban after a sling tackle on Richmond's Steven Morris leading Crows skipper Nathan Van Berlo to question the clarity of the rules surrounding tackles.

"He (Walker) gets awarded a free kick and gets a shot at goal for what seemed to be a fairly aggressive tackle, but one that was deemed at the time to be within the rules," Van Berlo said.

"I daresay the AFL's going to keep looking at ways to try and make the rule there clearer but, at the moment, players just have to be aware that tackles are going to be heavily scrutinised."

Ben Cousins has been fined $800 by a Perth magistrate on two sets of drugs charges.

Bachar Houli has signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him at Richmond until the end of 2014.

"He is one of our hardest-working players, and has been rewarded with his success so far at the club," Richmond's general manager of football Craig Cameron said.

"He is a fantastic leader around the place and a role model in the community."

Bachar Houli says he left Essendon for Richmond because of poor treatment at the selection table.

"I got my body to where I wanted it to be, and I was doing everything right in the VFL, and my performances in the VFL were showing that I was good enough to play at the highest level," Houli explained.

"Even (some Essendon) players were getting irritated about why I wasn't playing, and they were raising the question, 'Why isn't he playing?' (I still) don't know the reason.

"I guess I was one of the better players on the field, but I felt I was the scapegoat."