Richmond fans turn on own club after Dion Prestia selected for AFL grand final sprintBen Sutton
7news
29 Sept 2024Richmond fans have turned on their own club after veteran Dion Prestia was surprisingly named to compete in the traditional AFL grand final sprint.
The starters for the 100m dash on grand final day have been confirmed with every club participating.
But eyebrows were raised when Prestia’s name was confirmed as the Tigers’ entrant.
The 31-year-old has struggled with soft-tissue injuries throughout his career and missed 10 games this season with hamstring and calf issues.
But he has been included, along with fellow injury-prone veteran Orazio Fantasia from Carlton.
The decision shocked Port Adelaide great turned expert commentator Kane Cornes.
“This guy can’t do his shoes up without tearing a hammy and they’re going to put him out there for the half-time sprint,” Cornes said on SEN on Friday morning.
“You’ve got to run full speed, the riskiest thing you can do with soft tissue injuries and Dion Prestia is going to be participating in the half-time sprint.
“He can’t get through two games without pinging a hammy.”
Richmond fans agreed.
“Richmond putting Dion Prestia up as the GF day sprint competitor could be the dumbest thing I have ever seen. Literally nothing good can come of this,” one fan said.
“Have we legitimately entered Dion Prestia into the 100m sprint for Grand Final day? The one bloke on our list who would be close to the oldest and with chronic soft tissue injuries. This has to be someone winding me up surely?” another said.
“What the hell is going on at this club of ours? Dion Prestia in the GF sprint!! I’m sure there is some logical reason for this, but for a guy with frequent soft tissue injuries this is insane. Some of the decisions at this club over the past 12 months are just beyond belief,” another added.
“Dion Prestia running the GF sprint is like forgetting you need skeleton staff between Xmas and NY. A bit of forward planning please Tigers! We can’t have Dion pinging a hammy before pre-season,” another said.
https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-fans-turn-on-own-club-after-dion-prestia-selected-for-afl-grand-final-sprint-c-16198503