From aflq.com.au
Richmond, coming off a 78-point victory over the Western Bulldogs in Shepparton last weekend, will be close to full-strength after regaining key players in captain Kane Johnson, Matthew Richardson, Chris Newman, Troy Simmonds and Greg Stafford.
The inclusion of Richardson means that two of the game's truly elite forwards will be in action, with Richardson at one end and Sydney powerhouse Barry Hall at the other.
“We’ll be taking a much stronger squad up there,” said Football Operations Manager Paul Armstrong. “The guys that we rested last week will all play, along with the experienced players who returned to the line-up last week – Gaspar, Kellaway, Coughlan, Brown, etc.
“We’re looking forward to playing at Carrara and seeing how the facilities have apparently improved since footy was last played there a decade or so ago.
“It’ll be an interesting exercise as far as the AFL’s concerned as to whether football on the Gold Coast will attract a crowd in a game that doesn’t involve the Lions. I think that’s the basic reason behind why we’re playing there.”
With Richmond scheduled to play six games interstate this season, the brainstrust believes the trip to Queensland this weekend will prove most beneficial. The more our guys get used to traveling the better,” Armstrong said. “You tend to think that traveling interstate as a group is good for the bonding amongst the guys . . .
“We’re going to stay in Brisbane on the Friday night, get a bus down to Carrara on the Saturday, play the game, and then stay in Brisbane Saturday night, before returning home on Sunday morning.”
Also in the Richmond squad are Gold Coast pair Trent Knobel and Andrew Raines.
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