Dion Prestia [merged]

[Andyy]

Jack retired at 34 and IMO was playing very solid and it was the clubs fault he was the only KPF available getting assaulted every week playing 2-3 out

[Francois Jackson]

Absolutely Andy. He went out on a high IMO and to suggest otherwise is wrong

He was crucified in his final year.

[the claw]

32 is so young for where Dion's career perception has been for some time with his injury issues. 2020 onwards. Played 70 games.

Luck seems a silly thing to complain about but when you see Sidebottom, Dangerfield, Zorko and Pendlebury longevity, it's bad luck not one of our star premiership players has been able to be at a decent standard physically and mentally post 31/32 years of age.

Cotch aged quickly, so did Riewoldt. Dusty obviously.
Grimes body gave way.
Rance way too young.
Houli body was done.
Prestia and Lynch body has seen them miss an enormous amount of footy.

I don't blame the club for the Taranto top up. To have a cross next to all these players for longevity is really bad luck. Nothing against them, champion players.

 all of those named bar Rance who quit because of religion have had long long careers.
I would hazard a guess if you did a survey of all the 30 plus year olds who have played lets say 200 games then the average age for retirement would be around the  31 32 33 range maybe.

[one-eyed]

Injury-prone Tiger veteran, Dion Prestia, is fighting fit heading into Christmas after adopting a crash or crash-through approach. The three-time premiership player revealed to 10 News First he's keen to coach after he hangs up the boots

| @Richmond_FC @AFL @NickButler10 #AFL

Click on image to watch video:

https://x.com/10NewsFirstMelb/status/1868913579052663220

[one-eyed]

We must be 'smarter' with key mid Prestia: Yze

By Josh Gabelich
afl.com.au
19 Feb 2025

The Tigers will enter 2025 with a completely different list profile to last year, shifting from the fourth oldest to third youngest – and least experienced – list in the AFL after an off-season player exodus.

Dion Prestia, who is now the oldest player at the Swinburne Centre following the retirements of Dustin Martin, Dylan Grimes, Marlion Pickett and Naismith, has been managed differently this pre-season – he barely trained with the main group in January – after being limited to just 13 appearances in 2024 due to soft tissue strains.

"We need to get smarter. Dion is such a diligent worker. His running numbers and the way he works, he is so meticulous with how he looks after and prepares his body, he doesn't need to be there training every minute of the day," Yze explained.

"'Lynchy' was similar and 'Nank' (Toby Nankervis) was similar. They are getting to an age where we've got to get you ready for the season, we don't need you for November 25. They were on a modified program, but that was just the collision and contact part. They were on a program that got them ready for middle of Jan.

"We made a mistake last with Dion going off a five-day break from Opening Round. He was adamant he was right to play. We ended up pulling the wrong lever and played him. He has obviously missed a few games. You see him in the back end of the season how important he is to us. He is an extra coach out there for us. He will be a coach when he finishes playing, he is such a student of the game. We need him out there and hopefully we've got a program in place that allows him to play the majority of the season."

https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1718312/tigers-wont-rush-gibcus-must-be-smarter-with-key-mid-prestia

[Andyy]

I'd consider subbing him out every week lol

[one-eyed]

Dion Prestia will not feature across the coming weeks.

By Richmond Media
24 Feb 2025

Richmond midfielder Dion Prestia will likely miss the early rounds of the 2025 AFL season due to an Achilles issue.

Richmond High Performance Manager, Ben Serpell said that the injury flared up at training last week.

“Unfortunately, Dion has an Achilles issue that will require a rehabilitation phase over the coming weeks,” he added.

“Dion has completed a solid amount of work across the pre-season up to this point and got himself into excellent condition.

“However, we will now need to take some time to focus on getting his Achilles right, which will likely rule him out for the early rounds of the season.”

https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1720660/dion-prestia-injury-update

[Damo]

Should have retired

He’s cooked

Has been stuffed for years

[TigerLand]

Sad way to end for Dion.

Hope he's not remembered for literally limping over the line for what seems like since 2020 even including it. Should absolutely not have gone on. He's still talented but when the body goes, you can't do much and when your are 18th on ladder this was lost clogging type stuff.

[Diocletian]

lmao - who had "during pre-season" in the book? I had "before half time Round 1", seems even that was overly optimistic.

[Wazza]

 
Play the kids 

[one-eyed]

AFL captains name the most underrated or unheralded player at their club

“Dion Prestia. Consistent every week with his performance. Internally he is rated so highly, but externally he doesn’t get the credit he deserves.” - Toby Nankervis.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2025/02/24/afl-captains-name-the-most-underrated-or-unheralded-player-at-their-club

[Tiger Khosh]

Sad way to end for Dion.

Hope he's not remembered for literally limping over the line for what seems like since 2020 even including it. Should absolutely not have gone on. He's still talented but when the body goes, you can't do much and when your are 18th on ladder this was lost clogging type stuff.

If people remember him for that then they have very short memories. Absolute star for us in the dynasty years and pivotal to our flags.

[TigerLand]

I think it's difficult not to remember the ending of certain careers. I remember Bucks struggling big time with persistent hamstring injuries. Judd doing his knee instead of a farewell. Plugger a sad memory of him on the excersize bike on the bench towards the end. Prestia will be remembered for both the great dominant years and his unfortunate back end of having his body let him down for the last 5 years.

[Damo]

I think it's difficult not to remember the ending of certain careers. I remember Bucks struggling big time with persistent hamstring injuries. Judd doing his knee instead of a farewell. Plugger a sad memory of him on the excersize bike on the bench towards the end. Prestia will be remembered for both the great dominant years and his unfortunate back end of having his body let him down for the last 5 years.

Carey in Adelaide as a tenth of prime Carey