Richmond’s ongoing injury crisis has led to the departure of high performance boss Ben Serpell, who joined the Tigers after the 2024 season but failed to turn around a crippling injury toll that has hampered their rebuild. Serpell will leave Richmond this week to take up “another opportunity”.
Club statement on Serpell's exit
“The club is well placed to manage through the balance of the season with our existing high-performance staff while we commence an extensive search for a replacement,” Richmond football boss Tim Livingstone said.
Richmond have fielded 39 different players this season, with 12 currently on the injury list. The club’s injury woes have significantly impacted their performance, with coach Adem Yze winning just 10 of his 63 games in charge.
Key players sidelined
Prized No. 1 draft pick Sam Lalor has been restricted to just 18 games in almost two completed campaigns at Punt Rd. Lalor is currently sidelined with a partial Achilles tear and is pushing to be back for three or four games before the end of the season.
Fellow 2024 first-round pick Josh Smillie is yet to make his AFL debut as he battles ongoing quad issues, while highly-rated defender Josh Gibcus has been cruelled by knee injuries that have restricted him to four games across three years.
Yze refuses to use injuries as excuse
Adem Yze has battled with availability issues in all of his three seasons in charge, but refuses to use injuries as an excuse for the team’s poor record. “It (injuries) affects it a little bit, but you lose a soldier and you replace the soldier,” he said after Saturday night’s two-point loss against Carlton.
“There’ll be some bumps along the road when that’s happening and it is a lot harder when you’ve got high talent or really important players like ‘Lynchy’ (veteran forward Tom Lynch) missing. But we want to play the same way. We expect to play the same way with the ball and we want to be playing an attacking brand of footy that our ‘Tiger Army’ really enjoy watching.”
