Richmond young gun Sam Lalor opens up on ‘tough’ injury-plagued debut AFL seasonBen Sutton
7news
13 Oct 2025Richmond young gun Sam Lalor is back at training with a refreshed mindset after an injury-ravaged debut season that tested him both physically and mentally.
The 19-year-old’s whirlwind debut season came to an abrupt end in round 17 when he tore a troublesome hamstring and ultimately required surgery.
That injury came minutes into his return match from the same injury.
Lalor admitted the mental toll of multiple injuries was tough at first, but experienced teammates helped him through.
“It is frustrating, you want to be playing every week and to do the same injury three times is pretty tough,” he told 7NEWS.
“Rehab is a pretty tough place at a footy club.
“At first I was pretty flat but since then I’ve kind of kept my head up and all the older boys have helped me through it as well.”
Lalor enjoyed some time overseas in the off-season, but is back training hard ahead of what he hopes will be a big 2026.
“I went to New Zealand which is nice but back training now, pretty full on,” Lalor said.
“There’s a few boys around the club which is good to see so we’re working hard.”
As the face of Richmond’s rebuild, the No.1 pick’s debut against Carlton — where he kicked two goals and collected 18 touches — put Richmond minds at ease, though not his own.
“The first game was probably, I didn’t feel that much pressure for some reason,” he said.
“That was probably the one where I just wanted to go out and enjoy and played alright in that game so that probably made a bit more pressure on myself, a bit hard on myself at times.”
The young star has also had to adapt to life in the spotlight.
“Yeah walking down the street is a lot different but I’m used to it now, it’s all part of it,” Lalor said.
“I don’t cop it near as bad as some of our players but it is different going from school into a full-time job at one of the biggest clubs in Australia so I’ve loved every minute of it.”
https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-young-gun-sam-lalor-opens-up-on-tough-injury-plagued-debut-afl-season-c-20331944
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