Melbourne and Richmond’s practice match in Ballarat has been called off one quarter early after a pair of delays due to lightning in the area.
They say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but Victoria’s regional city of Ballarat certainly provided quite the lightning show as dark clouds descended on the game in the first quarter.
The first delay saw the match stopped in the first quarter, with the second occurring late in the third term.
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Hugo Ralphsmith, lightning strikes in Ballarat. Â Getty
Melbourne leaves the AAMI Community Series game 78-43 winners, with both teams now needing to recalibrate after finishing up early.
“We did notice this pre-game; it was travelling away from the stadium. Obviously, there’s a little bit more around,” Brad Johnson said.
St Kilda great Nick Dal Santo added: “Just to put that into perspective, 30 minutes ago there was nothing but sunshine. Now, the lightning’s come in extremely quickly.”
Dees key forward Jacob van Rooyen kicked three goals, while Richmond veteran Tom Lynch had five shots on goal and looked strong after an injury-interrupted 2025.
Melbourne midfielder Caleb Windsor impressed early and will be a key part of their on-ball unit this year, while Tigers draftee Sam Grlj showed glimpses of his talent as well.
Luker Kentfield will likely be ruled out of Melbourne’s start to the season after he copped a brutal knock to the head in an ugly marking contest on Friday.
Luker Kentfield in action. Fox Footy
Kentfield was just outside the goal square when he took on Richmond’s Kane McAuliffe in a marking contest that quickly took a wrong turn, after just two minutes on the field.
As Kentfield, who was wearing a face mask, got his hands on the Sherrin, he clashed heads with McAuliffe whose arm also struck the Demons star while falling.
It was clear the Kentfield did not have control of his body as the pair fell to the turf, with the key forward losing the ball and landing awkwardly on his knees.
“Lets hope he is OK,” Dwayne Russell said in commentary on Fox Footy.
“He has got a (hand) to the face … he looked fantastic last week.”
A new system where officials can step in and call for players to depart the field – given the athlete does not leave the field on their the accord – following incidents like Kentfield’s inside the arc looked set to come into play.
Luker Kentfield is seen with medical staff. AFL Photos via Getty Images
But it was clear to trainers as soon as Kentfield returned to his feet that his time on the field had come to an end, with 20-year-old struggling to hold up his own weight.
“He got a hit to the head and had no control over his body, and now it looks like his left knee is giving him some trouble,” Hawthorn great Ben Dixon said.
“Bit of a double whammy, isn’t it?”
Richmond’s top draftee Sam Cumming was also ruled out with a shoulder injury during the game.