Tiger Kelvin Moore set for unlikely comeback after nearly two years out by: Greg Denham
From: The Australian
July 12, 2012 ONE of the competition's forgotten men, Richmond defender Kelvin Moore, is set to make his long-awaited return to the elite level this weekend.
Moore will fly to far north Queensland today with teammates and, provided he gets through the afternoon training session in Cairns, he will more than likely play for the first time since 2010, against Gold Coast on Saturday.
With Richmond's numbers dwindling because of suspensions and injuries, Moore, 28, could be the second former defender to make his season debut in a week following Luke McGuane's successful comeback as a forward, last Saturday against Melbourne.
Moore's comeback from a shocking hip injury is even more remarkable considering most at Punt Road did not believe he would play again.
The former rookie-listed player, who graduated to the club's leadership group a few years ago, has had at least six operations on his hip, the latest in December when he had surgery to remove screws from his right side.
His third lot of surgery, last year, was his most serious as it involved an osteotomy, which included the cutting and rotating of his hip socket which was then pinned together with screws.
Moore, who found it difficult to walk up stairs last year, has now completed several games in the VFL after a steady build-up that included running for the first time in months when his teammates were playing practice matches.
After being at Punt Road through some tough times, Moore said his burning ambition was to be part of a sustained period of Tigers' success, and that would far outweigh his own personal disappointments over the past 20 months.
Playing at senior level will also give him the opportunity to prove himself again as he is coming out of contract at the end of the season.
Against an improved Gold Coast which last weekend pushed Geelong to 14 points, Richmond remains extremely vulnerable against the club that defeated the Tigers last season in Cairns in the first of their three games over three years as the home club.
In a short space of time, Richmond has been weakened by the loss of key personnel, which includes the axing of Dan Connors and the two-game club suspension of Dustin Martin.
The Tigers have also lost Nathan Foley (achilles), Dylan Grimes (hamstring) and Ty Vickery (shoulder) for the rest of the season.
Other notable absentees include Daniel Jackson and Matthew White, who are sidelined due to AFL suspensions and Jake King (knee).
As well, key defender Ben Griffiths remains in doubt after being substituted off with calf tightness last weekend.
In round 17 last year, the Tigers booted a wayward 6.8 in the opening term to the Suns' 1.2, before being overhauled to lose by 15 points. The Gold Coast has not won since.
Should Richmond turn that around this weekend, it will be the first time in Damien Hardwick's three years at Punt Road that he has enjoyed a better than 50-50 win-loss ratio in his senior coaching career.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/tiger-kelvin-moore-set-for-unlikely-comeback-after-nearly-two-years-out/story-fnca0u4y-1226423851704
