AFL

Injury-drained Tigers almost plumbed mid-season rookie

May 30, 2026

Tigers lose — The injury-hit Tigers were no match for the Sydney Swans at the SCG. -AAP Image

Richmond's injury crisis was so dire coach Adem Yze considered calling on a mid-season rookie draftee to play against flag fancies Sydney.

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With 16 players on his injury list, Yze was left with few options to take on the second-placed Swans' towering attack at the SCG.

The club selected 200cm defender Kye Annand with pick No.2 from the mid-season rookie draft on Tuesday, before Yze decided handing the full-time plumber a debut on Saturday would be too difficult.

Instead, Luke Trainor - in his just 29th AFL game - was given the task of containing two-time Coleman Medallist Charlie Curnow.

But Yze was forced to move magnets and throw Noah Balta into defence, with Curnow kicking six goals in the first half on his way to eight majors.

Slamming through eight goals to three in the second quarter, the Swans condemned the Tigers to their second-biggest loss under Yze with a 114-point demolition.

Richmond suffered a 119-point loss to Brisbane in 2024, after Yze was appointed coach the previous year.

"That's the risk when we go into the game," Yze said of playing Trainor on Curnow.

"And to be fair, we don't have anyone else to choose from in regards to our height.

"There was even a discussion around bringing in Kye, our mid-season pick, but that would have been a little bit too hard, getting put on our list on a Wednesday and then coming into the team.

"It wasn't just obviously Luke, but he gets a chance to play on an A-grader and he'll learn from it.

"But yeah, he (Curnow) didn't just kick goals on him, it was all of our defenders."

Heading into a bye, Richmond are hopeful of regaining some talent to face reigning premiers Brisbane in round 14.

Maurice Rioli (hamstring) and Jonty Faull (concussion) should be on track to feature against the Lions in Hobart, while captain Toby Nankervis (hamstring), Taj Hotton (hip) and Tom Brown (forearm) are all chances within the next fortnight.

"I don't want to pre-empt it, but we should get four, five, six players back post-bye, which is exactly what we need," Yze said.

"Our boys are tired. We've dealt with a bit the last month.

"They look really tired today, so it'll be good to refresh and hopefully hit the ground running in the second part of the year."