Richmond coach Adem Yze has alluded to the club relying on a youngster to fill the role of Tom Lynch after his one-match suspension was upheld at the Tribunal on Tuesday.
Lynch was a sight for sore eyes in Round 1 in the Tiger forward line after putting together eight games in the past two seasons, dealing with persistent injuries.
Despite putting aside his injury woes, it was suspension that got the better of the former Sun, after he was declared guilty for a bump on Carlton's Tom De Koning.
One of very few experienced heads in the Richmond line-up, Yze conceded that they will be young against Port Adelaide in Round 2 even moreso in Lynch's absence, with a host of youngsters putting their hand up for selection.
"We'll look at that today," Yze said to reporters on Wednesday.
"Whether it's like for like, or whether we go down a different model. But it's really hard to cover for Lynchy. He's an amazing player and a great leader.
"We're going to miss him, and unfortunately he's going to miss a week. So we'll get him back against St Kilda.
"But someone's going to have to step up and lead in the front end.
"We're going to be really young in our front end."
After unveiling three debutants in Round 1, Yze could look to a host of unearthed forwards to fill the void in the front half or a direct replacement for Lynch.
Samson Ryan is a like-for-like given his ability to give Toby Nankervis a chop-out in the ruck.
Ryan kicked three goals in the club's VFL hit-out against Carlton last week as did untried tall Liam Fawcett .
Jasper Alger, Jonty Faull and Thomas Sims - all draftees from the 2024 crop - also impressed reserves coach Jake Batchelor in the contest, and could join fellow selections Sam Lalor, Luke Trainor and Harry Armstrong.
"He was great, he was crashing packsโฆthat's all we wanted from him," Bachelor said of Faull.
Yze said that he felt for Lynch despite the AFL's desire to protect the players' head, but ultimately admitted, that his key forward got it wrong.
"You look at all the incidents that went to the Tribunal and it's a tough one," Yze said.
"You want him (Lynch) to fight and you want him to try and win the ball and go with aggression, but we've got to protect the head.
"He was a split second off with that."
Pick 7 from last year's Josh Smillie is making good progress to an early-season debut as he overcomes a hamstring injury.
Smillie has been on a modified program as he builds into full training, which he did on Wednesday.
Yze says he could be available against St Kilda or Brisbane.
