Richo in doubt for clash with Blues
By Melissa Ryan
realfooty.theage.com.au
June 19, 2004
Doubts hover over Richmond forward Matthew Richardson for tonight's clash against Carlton, with the star having to seek medical attention for a lower back/hamstring problem during training yesterday.
Richardson lasted for less than 30 minutes of the indoor training session at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. During drills, he clutched at his hamstring a number of times. He then pulled up to complete some stretches with the club physiotherapist before heading off to the nearby sports medicine clinic for aid. Richardson later returned to the session, which by that stage had been closed to the media.
Afterwards, football manager Greg Hutchinson insisted that Richardson had resumed training and would take his place tonight against Carlton.
"Matthew had some problems associated with his lower back and he had to leave training and get some treatment," Hutchinson said.
"He's since come back and done everything that we wanted him to do, so our expectation and understanding is that he's available to play and he'll be playing tomorrow night. The way things are at the moment, he's pretty good and he's got through what he had to do, so we're very confident that he'll be available to play."
Earlier, Tigers coach Danny Frawley had spoken of how pleased he was with Richardson's consistency this season, which he thought had been largely overlooked.
"Matty's form's been really consistent and I think that's been, not swept under the carpet somewhat, but I think a lot of focus has always been on him and I think it's been a real positive for him and the club to finally settle him down in a position and play some good consistent footy," Frawley said.
"He's playing a lot more controlled, a lot more relaxed, and I think all our players need to take a leaf out of his book."
The Tigers face the sizeable task of containing Blues goalkicker Brendan Fevola. Since his brief stint in defence on Fraser Gehrig in round 10, Fevola has gone on to kick 13 goals in matchwinning performances against Adelaide and Hawthorn.
With such a potent forward to curb, the Tigers had to ensure "the supply is nice and spasmodic" to Fevola. Recalled defender Ty Zantuck looked like the frontrunner for the job.
"We've got Zantuck there as well, who's got good form on him. We've got Ray Hall, who's had some big jobs this year, and we've got (Darren) Gaspar as well, so our options are fairly well open there," Frawley said.
"One thing about Ty, he's had some really good form on some really key forwards, so he's probably going to get another great opportunity tomorrow night."
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