Richmond Tigers season turns to nightmare ahead of Dreamtime at the ’G match against Essendon Bombers

The tribunal appearance continues a frustrating season for the 30-year-old premiership Swan, who remains stranded on 283 matches.

Meanwhile, Bombers forward Harrison Jones has been offered a one-match suspension for a dangerous tackle on North Melbourne’s Zac Fisher while Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters has been fined $6250 for felling Hawthorn ruckman Lloyd Meek as long as he accepts the fine. It is the Port midfielder’s third offence.

Liberatore to be liberated from concussion protocols

Greg Dundas

The Western Bulldogs hope to have star extractor Tom Liberatore back in their midfield in two to three weeks as he recovers from a series of concussion scares.

There was widespread concern for Liberatore when he fell to the ground, groggy, after copping a boot to the head late in his team’s round-eight loss to Hawthorn earlier this month.

It followed a concussion that forced him to collapse to the ground just three weeks earlier – in round five against Essendon – and two other concussions last season.

But the Bulldogs reported on Monday that Liberatore – who turned 32 last week – was nearing a return to the field.

“We have continued to be very diligent and thorough in our processes for assessing and managing Tom following his most recent concussion,” the club’s head of sports medicine, Chris Bell, said.

“This has involved specialist review and opinion to help guide his return to play planning.

“In some great news, after some reassuring results, we have a devised a structured return to play plan, that if everything goes well, will see Tom returning to play across the next two to three weeks.”

The Bulldogs have revived their season with wins over Richmond and GWS since Liberatore was sidelined, but face a tough month ahead – Sydney, Collingwood, Brisbane Lions and Fremantle – before their mid-season bye round in late June.

Dashing defender Jason Johannisen is expected to miss all of those games, sidelined by a hamstring injury sustained at training last week, while key defender Ryan Gardner will be out for even longer after damaging a ligament in his wrist punching a ball.

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“Jason was running at speed and went to change direction and slipped on the wet ground at training last week,” Bell said.

“At this stage, I anticipate that JJ will miss the next four to five weeks with this injury.

“[Gardner needs] surgery to reconstruct the damaged ligament.

“We will confirm Ryan’s rehab plan following the surgery but expect him to miss at least the next three months. ”

Dreamtime relief for Tigers after nightmare start to season

Marc McGowan

Indigenous star Daniel Rioli says Richmond will set aside the negativity around their injury-hit season to focus on upsetting Essendon in Saturday night’s Dreamtime at the ’G clash.

The two powerhouse Victorian clubs will face off at the MCG in the annual match for the 20th time overall, but from opposite ends of the ladder.

The second-placed Bombers have buoyed hopes they can finally end their two-decade-long drought without a finals triumph, whereas the second-from-bottom Tigers are coming to terms with life after three flags in four seasons under Damien Hardwick.

A 119-point hiding from Brisbane last Saturday night was arguably Richmond’s lowest ebb under new coach Adem Yze as their percentage sunk below 60 and their record slumped to 1-9.

Making matters worse were fresh injuries to Mykelti Lefau (jaw) and Rhyan Mansell (head), while hard-luck ruckman Sam Naismith sustained a suspected fourth ACL rupture in the VFL.

Rioli’s uncle, teammate Maurice Rioli jnr, will also miss the game with a serious ankle injury, but his imprint will still be on the contest after designing the Tigers’ Dreamtime jumper.

“I think everyone knows how we’re going on-field – [it is] pretty disappointing. We probably don’t want to be in the position we’re in now,” Rioli told reporters.

“Obviously, we’ve got a new game plan and new coaches, but we can’t use that as an excuse. We just need to get better on-field as a playing group. We’ve got a game plan there to execute, and I think we’ve just been a bit off.

“Our intensity is there, our effort’s there, but we just can’t sort of nail our game plan, so if we get that right and tweak a [few] little things, then I think it will come our way. But we’re not going to come out to the ’G on Saturday night hoping to lose. We want to come here and hopefully get a win – and that’s our mindset.

“It’s going to be an interesting game, but we will try and push aside all the negatives that we’ve been facing this year, and hopefully, we can turn the tables.”

Essendon recruit Jade Gresham, also an Indigenous man, will play in the Dreamtime match for the first time, after having a taste of the occasion as a child in a half-time Auskick game.

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Part of the appeal for Gresham to leave St Kilda for the Bombers last year was to play in front of bigger crowds and on larger stages, which he said was “awesome”.

“That was pretty cool [playing Auskick] as a young fella, and I also did the Long Walk one year,” Gresham said. “It’s a special game for Indigenous people, and it’s one of the rounds you circle at the start of the year, and one you want to be a part of as a player, so hopefully, I can do my family and friends proud this weekend.”

Rioli is a veteran of these games after attending them as a spectator during his time boarding at St Patrick’s College in Ballarat, telling his schoolmates about his dream to play in the match one day.

“I went to Ballarat for four years and came to every single one, and I always said to my mates that I wanted to play in this game,” Rioli said.

“Funnily enough, I got drafted to Richmond, and to be able to play in such an amazing game [as] Dreamtime at the ’G is pretty special.”

The legendary Michael Long will be in attendance again for his Long Walk, a charity designed to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives. He said the 20th anniversary had come “very quickly”.

“We’re still continuing the work we do, and obviously using football as a platform for reconciliation, bringing people together … it’s quite a special one this year for us,” Long said.

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“[Dreamtime at the ’G] has just grown and grown, and it’s one of the rounds you look for. It does so much for the community, the players, and all supporters; you see all the clubs with different designs and logos. Some of the great work they’re doing, which people don’t see, is really important.”

Long, who played in Essendon’s 1993 and 2000 premierships, and Gresham are cautiously revelling in the Bombers’ uprising this year, knowing there is more than half the season to go.

“I was actually there last night [at the North Melbourne game], so they’ve been performing really well,” Long said.

“The coach has done a really good job of bringing the club together, and [there are] some young players coming through, so it’s quite exciting. It’s great for the supporters to see their success now. It’s taken a while, so hopefully, we stay where we are, but [there is] still a long way to go.”

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