Tigers start with a roarJennifer Phelan
afl.com.au
February 12, 2014 12:45 PMTRENT Cotchin, Brett Deledio, Dustin Martin and new recruit Shaun Hampson headline a strong Richmond outfit set to take on Melbourne this Friday night at Etihad Stadium in the NAB Challenge.
In comparison, the Demons have named a squad largely bereft of talls but featuring their new-look midfield with a number of recent recruits to run out.
The Tigers will be without forward Jack Riewoldt, who will miss one week with quad soreness, and ruckman Ivan Maric, who has been managed through the pre-season after groin surgery and is now recovering from an ankle injury that will take one to two weeks.
They will also be missing Dylan Grimes (hamstring), Daniel Jackson (groin), Jake King (toe) and Ricky Petterd (calf) for at least this game.
However, Hampson will play his first game in the yellow and black, teaming up with ruckman Orren Stephenson and Ben Griffiths, who has trained with the forward line and in the ruck this summer.
With the exception of Grimes, the Tigers have had the luxury of picking most of their defenders with Troy Chaplin, Alex Rance, Steven Morris, David Astbury, Jake Batchelor, Nick Vlastuin and Matt McDonough selected after a strong pre-season from the defensive group.
Their three draftees from November – Ben Lennon, Nathan Gordon and Sam Lloyd - have also been named, as has former Greater Western Sydney midfielder Anthony Miles and ex-Brisbane Lion Todd Banfield.
The Demons are, as expected, missing forwards Mitch Clark (foot), Chris Dawes (knee) and Jesse Hogan (knee), while fellow talls Mark Jamar and Jack Fitzpatrick are also not in the squad.
Clark and Dawes are being eased through summer with the former missing much of last season with a foot fracture and the latter following knee surgery.
Hogan, who won VFL affiliate Casey Scorpions' best and fairest last year, has been recovering from a minor knee strain he sustained at training last month.
The Dees' new midfield under Paul Roos will get a run with recruits Daniel Cross, Viv Michie, Bernie Vince and Dom Tyson named.
Jack Watts is playing and expected to show off his skills in a new midfield role while both captains – Nathan Jones and Jack Grimes – have been named.
Of the three recent draftees, only small forward Jay Kennedy-Harris has been named with Christian Salem and Jayden Hunt not in the squad.
Recent rookie acquisitions Alex Georgiou – who is a tall defender – and ruckman/forward Max King have been named.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-02-12/nab-challenge-squads-tigers-demons
