Tigers falling short on tallsMichael Gleeson
The Age
May 9, 2012RICHMOND'S cause this week has been helped by the absence through injury of Sydney star Adam Goodes, but the Tigers are not without injury concerns of their own to tall forwards.
Tyrone Vickery, substituted out of last week's game with a tight calf, is yet to be cleared to play this week.
Richmond took a conservative line with Vickery in subbing him out, mindful of the jumping involved in the relief ruck role and being careful not to push him lest he tear the muscle and miss a string of games.
Vickery had already been battling a niggling shoulder problem that he will nurse through the season.
In more troubling news for the Tigers, luckless key-position player Ben Griffiths injured a knee in the VFL.
The injury-plagued Griffiths suffered a medial ligament strain playing for Coburg and will miss more than a month.
The 200-centimetre forward has endured two wretched season with shoulder injuries, and has managed just nine games since making his debut in 2010.
The Tigers had hoped to move Griffiths to the back line to develop into the big key defender they are still lacking.
That will remain the plan when Griffiths, who is still only 20, makes his return from injury.
David Astbury, the other young player the Tigers have been hoping will mature into a key defender, played again in the Coburg seconds last week as he returns from injury.
Richmond's emerging ruckman Andrew Browne also played in the Coburg seconds in a bid to to get more game time and had an astonishing 97 hit outs.
Angus Graham, playing for Coburg, had a similarly dominant day with 63 hit outs.
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