Richmond will be without star midfielder Tim Taranto for Round 19 following a tackle that left the onballer with a concussion in the second half of Sunday's loss to GWS.
A tackle by Giants tagger Toby Bedford in the fourth term left Taranto dazed as his head hit the turf at some speed, with subsequent medical assessment ruling the 26-year-old out for the remainder of the match and the next 12 days of action.
That will see Taranto come back out of coach Adem Yze's side after a wrist injury hampered the majority of his first half of the season, making the Tigers' chances of a win this weekend against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval a touch more difficult.
"He's obviously concussed. He got subbed out with that and he'll go into the protocols," Yze confirmed after the club's four-goal defeat.
"He seems okay walking around now. It's a standard concussion. We're going to miss him, because he was in good form again."
The Tigers won the clearance battle 39-31 as Taranto, Dion Prestia and Jacob Hopper fed off the silver service of skipper Toby Nankervis in the middle.
Prior to Sunday's loss, the three senior Richmond onballers had played a combined 20 games in 2024, with the game against GWS the first time since Round 1 all three of Taranto, Hopper and Prestia played together.
While Yze has managed to hand the younger ranks of his midfield contingent more opportunities than expected this year, the Tigers coach had hoped for some continuity with his leading ball winners.
"That's the balancing act. When we've got kids, you've got to understand there's going to be form fluctuations," Yze said.
"Today we had almost our best midfield that we've had for a long time. I'm really proud we've come out with those numbers.
"That (midfield) mix is going to take a little bit of time too, Dion hasn't played for a little while. It was amazing what he did today.
"The longer they play together the better. We've been able to manage and see the silver lining when they haven't been in the team. That's getting Thomson Dow and Kane McAuliffe opportunities.
"Right now, we're going to pick our best team, and the three that were in there today are easily in our best team."
Taranto's absence will come when the Tigers expect to have Dustin Martin back from a back issue that has seen him miss Richmond's past two matches.
The Tigers won't have key forward Tom Lynch for at least another week as they look to ensure his fitness for the final month of the year following his most recent hamstring setback.
Attacking duo Rhyan Mansell (knee) and Shai Bolton (groin) should be fit to face the Power this Saturday despite issues of their own against the Giants.
"We'll see how he trains this week. We've got a six-day break," Yze said of Martin.
"It's just all about his fitness. If his back is okay, we'll get an understanding of that on Tuesday and then our main session on Thursday.
"We'll get a clear picture later in the week."
Richmond sits last on the ladder after 17 matches, having won just two games in 2024.
