Pick 1: Sam Lalor

[one-eyed]

Yze gives update on Lalor injury

By Phoebe McWilliams
AFL Media
5 July 2025

Top draft pick Sam Lalor looks set for a significant period on the sidelines after Richmond coach Adem Yze confirmed the young gun's hamstring injury "looks like a bad one".

Lalor lasted less than three minutes in his side's clash against Geelong on Saturday when he sustained the injury to his left hamstring while executing a tackle on the outer wing in the first term.

It's the second time this season Lalor has hurt the same hamstring, after injuring it previously in Richmond's Dreamtime at the 'G match against Essendon in Round 11.

"He's done the same one, and I think the mechanism's something that it's hard to train. So yeah, it looks like a bad one, which is really disappointing," Yze said.

"He loves his club, and he loves his teammates, and he just wants to help. So when you see him go out of the game straight away, it flattened us.

"Not only flattened his teammates, but flattened us as coaches, because not only the talent, but he just deserves a good go at it."

Yze said the Club's medical team took a cautious approach with their No.1 draft pick, choosing to wait an extra week before recalling him.

"We were really cautious with him by giving him an extra week and bringing him in a week later. But I think that mechanism wouldn't have mattered when it happened," he said.

"The numbers that he was producing from training were ... like I said, he was ready the week before.

"So yeah, we've got to help him through that. We don't want this to happen again. We want him to have a long career without these little hiccups."

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1357098/richmond-tiger-sam-lalors-hamstring-injury-looks-like-a-bad-one-geelong-cats-explain-bailey-smith-withdrawal

[Andyy]

Just ice him for the rest of the year, period

[WilliamPowell]

Yze said the mechanism is hard to train. Sounds to me like they put the hamstring through normal pressure loads but whatever happened in that tackle was different. You’d think they would
Emulate every possible stress the hamstring could endure in a game.

Sounds like a disconnect between coaches and medical staff imo.

Fair point but could it actually be emulated in a training scenario compared to what happens on a playing field?

In that respect your original comment about wanting answer is a valid one.

I think (hope) we will know more after the scans. In that they will know exactly where the in the hammy the problem is this time and what's caused it.

The thing that still makes me think this is something out of the ordinary is how he got up afterwards. He didn't clutch at it straight away but only after he started walking. I've never seen anything like that before and I've been watching footy a long time

As I said it will all become clearer after the scans

[tdy]

The risks of having so few experienced players. You play the kids too early.

[Tiger Khosh]

Just ice him for the rest of the year, period

Even a standard hammy would likely rule him out for the season and this one looked much worse than a standard one. I’m more concerned about how much of next season this may impact then any chance of him coming back this season.

[Andyy]

Just ice him for the rest of the year, period

Even a standard hammy would likely rule him out for the season and this one looked much worse than a standard one. I’m more concerned about how much of next season this may impact then any chance of him coming back this season.

So in short you agree.

Standard is 3 weeks.

Bad is what, 5-6 unless they need surgery?

Armstrong is beyond bad.

Lalor could make it back towards the end of the year if we're lucky but I wouldn't bother.

[Tiger Khosh]

Just ice him for the rest of the year, period

Even a standard hammy would likely rule him out for the season and this one looked much worse than a standard one. I’m more concerned about how much of next season this may impact then any chance of him coming back this season.

So in short you agree.

Standard is 3 weeks.

Bad is what, 5-6 unless they need surgery?

Armstrong is beyond bad.

Lalor could make it back towards the end of the year if we're lucky but I wouldn't bother.

I’m just purely guessing but the way he was struggling to get off the ground suggests to me that it’ll be more than a 5-6 weeker. But yeah even if it is a 4, 5, 6 week diagnosis the club has shown they will add weeks to that before actually bringing a player back in so his season is done I rekn.

[one-eyed]

"I'd be staggered if we saw him again [this year]."

Damian Barrett on Sam Lalor after another hamstring injury for the number one pick.

https://x.com/FootyonNine/status/1941658474946974147

Issac Smith in the above vision said Cyril Rioli had hamstring issues early on and Hawthorn were able to sort it out.

-----------------------------------------------

"I think you're getting more out of him in the long-term than you are for the remainder of this season."

- Kate McCarthy on Sam Lalor's future.

https://x.com/AFLcomau/status/1941660869651464660

[WilliamPowell]

Hate to be the profit of doom but I'm expecting it to be similar to Armstrong's

Tendon off the bone, surgery and done for the season

[Tiger Khosh]

Hate to be the profit of doom but I'm expecting it to be similar to Armstrong's

Tendon off the bone, surgery and done for the season

Atleast he wouldn’t miss any of the preseason if that’s the case.

[pmac21]

Blessing in disguise maybe.
Plenty of time for round one 2026

[eliminator]

Really feel for him. Would not play him again this year. Need to do everything possible to address the hamstring issue.

[MintOnLamb]

The thing I find amazing is Josh Gibcus’ injury, he had to go overseas to some hamstring super centre to get it sorted, are hamstrings so different all over the world?
Why not get these super hamstring people here??

Lalors hamstring must have been stuffed, surely a post injury MRI should be carried out prior to putting the player back on the field??

Such a scam on Lalor would have shown that the hammy was still sus??

[WilliamPowell]

The thing I find amazing is Josh Gibcus’ injury, he had to go overseas to some hamstring super centre to get it sorted, are hamstrings so different all over the world?
Why not get these super hamstring people here??

Lalors hamstring must have been stuffed, surely a post injury MRI should be carried out prior to putting the player back on the field??

Such a scam on Lalor would have shown that the hammy was still sus??

He has had multiple scan over the last month. Scans came back that he was right to go.

Amazing what you get told and hear sometimes 

[MintOnLamb]

The thing I find amazing is Josh Gibcus’ injury, he had to go overseas to some hamstring super centre to get it sorted, are hamstrings so different all over the world?
Why not get these super hamstring people here??

Lalors hamstring must have been stuffed, surely a post injury MRI should be carried out prior to putting the player back on the field??

Such a scam on Lalor would have shown that the hammy was still sus??

He has had multiple scan over the last month. Scans came back that he was right to go.

Amazing what you get told and hear sometimes 

Thanks for the info