Life as an AFL coach is never easy.
With the weight of the club's supporters on your shoulders and the eyes of the media watching your every move, riding every win or loss, stress is without a doubt at an all-time high.
Especially if you lead one of the biggest clubs in the competition.
Enter, Adem Yze, the coach of Richmond, who in his short five-game coaching career has had to deal with all the aforementioned difficulties and then some.
The Tigers have been whacked by the injury curse, with arguably seven of their top ten players sidelined for various reasons and lengths.
You can't help but feel sorry for Yze.
And the fresh injury to reigning best and fairest winner Tim Taranto, who is expected to miss an extended period due to a fractured wrist, is the cherry on top.
| Injured Player | Weeks | Games |
| Jacob Hopper (Knee) | 2-3 weeks | 132 |
| Dion Prestia (Hamstring) | 3 weeks | 214 |
| James Trezise (Ankle) | 3-5 weeks | 2 |
| Noah Balta (Knee) | 4-6 weeks | 89 |
| Jacob Bauer (Hamstring) | 4-6 weeks | 4 |
| Tim Taranto (Wrist) | 6-8 weeks | 142 |
| Jack Ross (Foot) | 8 weeks | 68 |
| Tom Lynch (Hamstring) | 10-12 weeks | 219 |
| Liam Fawcett (Back) | Long Term | 0 |
| Mate Colina (Back) | Long Term | 0 |
| Josh Gibcus (Knee) | Season | 20 |
| 890 |
Taranto's long-term absence in the midfield is compounded by the missing trio of Jacob Hopper, Dion Prestia and Jack Ross, with the latter revealing a stress-related fracture in his foot this week.
Up forward, the Tigers seem lost without Tom Lynch and Noah Balta while in defence, a Josh Gibcus sized-void continues to hurt Yze.
Club champion Dustin Martin also missed games against Gold Coast and Sydney, while midfielder Jack Graham has just returned from a quad injury.
Premiership defenders Nathan Broad and Dylan Grimes were absent at times, with the latter looking to overcome a niggling wrist.
As a result of the substantial injury list, Richmond has deployed the most players in an AFL setting, using 35 across the opening five weeks.
The next best is Gold Coast with 31 (who have unveiled four debutants).
Despite their injury woes, the Tigers have battled on admirably, including a stoic and solitary victory in Round 3 against one of the leading contenders (Sydney) in the competition.
Losses to Carlton (five points) and St Kilda (seven) could have gone either way but unfortunately for Yze, his early record stands at 1-4.
Before heading into the first of their two byes (due to participating in Opening Round), Richmond will travel west to take on the Eagles, in a game they're listed as favourites to claim the win.
They will welcome back Liam Baker from suspension, with further changes to be confirmed on Friday at 5:00pm (AEST).
Regardless of the result, a fair judgement of Yze's Tigers will need to be put on hold.