AFL 2025; Tom Lynch ban to test Tigers forward stocks

The Australian

a day ago

Richmond could place the club's goalkicking fortunes on a bunch of teenagers and a defender who hasn't kicked a goal all year after Tom Lynch was handed a five-match ban for striking.
Already sitting second last on the ladder with just three wins, and coming off a 68-point hiding by Adelaide, the Tigers have no clear goal square presence, with small forward Seth Campbell's 21 majors the most of anyone at the club this season.
A calf injury suffered by key forward Mykelti Lefau in his return from an ACL last weekend will cost him up to six weeks on the sidelines, causing significant front half of the ground headaches for coach Adem Yze.
Last year's No.1 draft pick, Sam Lalor, is set to return for the Tigers this week and along with fellow 19-year-old Harry Armstrong, who could return in round 18, loom as possible forward options for a team that has battled to kick winning scores all season.
Noah Balta might have to play forward. Picture: Mark Stewart
Richmond is the only team in the AFL yet to kick 1000 points this season, their total of 963 being 40 points less than even the last-placed West Coast Eagles, who have only won a single game.
Yze flagged that key defender Noah Balta, who went forward late in the clash against the Crows, could be a forward prospect in Lync's absence.
Balta has kicked just 37 goals across his 111 games, and none in seven in 2025, a season impacted by a court-imposed curfew that basically limits him to day games in Victoria.
The Tigers face Geelong at Geelong this week, meaning Balta can play, and Lalor, who burst onto the AFL scene with two goals in round 1 against Carlton and has 11 for the season, should be ready to play.
'Sam passed all of his tests last week, but we made a decision that the best thing for him going forward for his long-term career was to just get a few more football exposures before we throw him back into AFL football,' Richmond high performance manager Ben Serpell said.
Sam Lalor's return is timely. Picture:'He did some extra footy training last week, and he will get through a full session tomorrow, and then we will see him out there this weekend.'
Richmond picked up Seth McDonald in the mid-season draft with a view to helping boost their forward stocks. He kicked two goals in the VFL last weekend.
Armstrong, drafted as a goalkicker having been a key forward in the under-18 competition, could be one more week away.
Despite their flailing fortunes, Yze was adamant his team would not fall off a cliff this season with eight games still to go.
'I've got no doubt that our players aren't just going to look to the end (of the season),' he said.