Ben Griffiths concussion Richmond Tigers, AFL concussions, VFL Werribee v RichmondJON RALPH
Herald Sun
14 July 2017[/i]
RICHMOND says it is confident Ben Griffiths can make a full recovery from repeated concussions after passing him fit to take on Werribee on Saturday.
Tigers football boss Neil Balme said the key position tall would play in the VFL this week after 12 weeks out of the game.
He remains Richmond’s missing link this year, the club keen to play a second key forward despite battling valiantly with only Jack Riewoldt and a fleet of smaller players.
The Tigers will put no pressure on Griffiths after a series of concussions that Riewoldt himself described as “scary” early this year.
He hasn’t played senior football since Round 2, concussed in an incident that saw his shoulder hit the ground and yet Griffiths still suffer concussion.
Balme told the Herald Sun Griffiths had passed a battery of concussion tests and undertaken competitive work at training.
Ben Griffiths in the hands of trainers after being concussed in Round 2.
Balme said the Tigers had fingers crossed about Griffiths’ return to senior football after two concussions this year.
“We expect him to play in the VFL this week. He’s pretty bright and upbeat at the minute, he’s really confident of where he is,’’ he said.
“He has done all the neuro psycho testing stuff and they are pretty confident he is in a good position. He has done all the competitive training and he has run pretty hard and worked pretty hard.
“We probably won’t play him a full game but we are confident he will play.”
If Griffiths suffers another serious concussion this year he would seem long odds to play again in 2017, one of a long list of players battling serious concussion issues.
Even Royce Hart at centre half-forward wouldn’t have helped Richmond in last weekend’s massacre against St Kilda.
But as the Tigers prepare for a potential finals campaign they will need a second tall forward for the bailout kick forward and the more pressurised football September provides.
Todd Elton is also back from a month-long shoulder injury but was only a stop-gap solution during his six AFL games early in the year.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/ben-griffiths-returns-to-football-richmond-confident-he-can-overcome-concussions/news-story/2a5c9dad877d20d3fb5d24e3177c02e4