With the AFL finals series kicking off in less than a week, Richmond and West Coast are both set to bring in a host of names for their respective campaigns.
At the Tigerland camp, Dion Prestia will attempt to prove his fitness during the bye week as he attempts to return from a syndesmosis injury he sustained all the way back in round five.
Good to see Dion Prestia training https://t.co/NGqei0LVSn
— The Tiger Army (AFL) (@TheTigerArmyAFL) September 24, 2020
However, the Tigers could opt to hold Prestia out of the team until the second or third week, given Richmond have the double chance, after finishing inside the top four.
โIf heโs (Prestia) right, weโll want to play him, but itโll be a challenge to fit him into the team,โ Neil Balme said on the clubโs Talking Tigers podcast.
โI think heโs a reasonable chance, almost a certainty to play at some stage in the finals
The news is better for key forward Tom Lynch, who hurt his hamstring in their win over Geelong in round 17.
โFrom the outset we said we thought Lynchy would have enough time to overcome that minor hammy to be in,โ he said.
โBut even said that, even Damien (Hardwick) said, โYou only get one chance with thatโ, so weโll be conservative with the way we judge it, but Iโm still reasonably confident heโll get up for this game.
โThatโll be a challenge as to how we deal with both of them.โ
As West Coast prepare for their elimination final against Collingwood, they look likely to bring in over half a dozen names.
Jamie Cripps, Mark Hutchings, Lewis Jetta, Josh Kennedy, Jeremy McGovern, Jack Redden and Luke Shuey could all start for their showdown with the Pies after spending time on the sidelines with respective injuries.
Star forward Josh Kennedy restricted to walking laps..
Jack Redden testing out thumb issue.
McGovern flying at @westcoasteagles training this morning.
Hear from Captain โ Coach on @9NewsPerth tonight ๐บ pic.twitter.com/sCtaSpD3ma
— Jimmy Williams (@jimmywilliams03) September 23, 2020
โYou want your best players playing, thereโs no doubt about that,โ Eaglesโ coach Adam Simpson told Fox Sports.
โAt this time of the year you can only carry so many players if youโre not at full strength, so itโs good to know weโve got a bit of depth in our squad.
โThereโs belief in what we do and when you get to finals football, every team just plays their own way and weโll no doubt be doing that, and I have no doubt Collingwood will do the same thing.โ
