Johnson still no certainty
12:57:05 PM Fri 15 July, 2005
Jennifer Witham
Sportal for afl.com.au
Richmond skipper Kane Johnson is no certainty to play against St Kilda on Saturday - despite being named in the Tigers' final 22 - as he continues to recuperate from a strained medial ligament.
The captained survived the Tigers' training session on Friday, but coach Terry Wallace said the aftermath of the hit-out would determine his availability ahead of Saturday's clash at the MCG.
"He needs to pull up alright, obviously that's the first real hit out he's had with the team, so we were comfortable with the way he got through the training session, but obviously it's whether there's any swelling or inflammation there, and how it settles over the next 24 hours," Wallace said.
"So I wouldn't say that he's absolutely rubber-stamped at this stage, at the moment we've selected him, he got through training, and he's got to pull up now."
Wallace said that he will be 'waiting for the phone to ring' on Saturday morning regarding whether Johnson will play, considering the skipper himself isn't 100 per cent certain of his own availability.
"I wouldn't say (he's) super-confident. Again it's how you pull up. We thought he was some chance last week and he actually went through a training run privately and pulled up really sore after the training run, so that's really the test," Wallace said.
Meanwhile, after winning the club's 'crunch match' against Essendon last week, Wallace believes the club has set up an exciting run home to the finals given its current position.
He also acknowledged the fact the Tigers are a headline act this weekend on a Saturday where six out of the top eight sides are lining up against each other is a credit to his young team.
"It's a great opportunity. I think at the start of the season, we thought that we would have been the only people that actually thought our side could play on 'Super Saturday' this far into the season," Wallace said.
"You have a look at every other side around in the 'Super Saturday' eight teams and I think you would have suggested at the start of the year that every one of them could have been there. I don't think that anyone would have expected the Tigers to be there.
"That's a credit to our boys, and I'm just hoping they can live up that and really put on a big showing."
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