Richmond will continue its long-term approach to untried midfielder Josh Smillie.<\/p>\n
Smillie has been on the Tigers\u2019 rehab list for most of his AFL career and remains at least six to eight weeks away.<\/p>\n
The big-bodied midfielder was selected at pick 7 in the 2024 super draft and is the only one of the Tigers\u2019 haul of first-round picks yet to debut.<\/p>\n
Richmond coach Adem Yze said the club needed to maintain its focus on the future to ensure Smillie had no further setbacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand he\u2019s going through a fair bit and I said this last week, his injury was different to the operation,\u201d Yze said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just had a tweak of his quad, he\u2019s started his running program and we\u2019re really clear on what that looks like and we\u2019re not going to take any risk with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to make sure when he does come in he doesn\u2019t have any more setbacks, but we can\u2019t wait to get him back out there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think most young lads with high talent would get a bit jealous and frustrated and that\u2019s understandable. He\u2019s a highly driven kid and he wants our footy club to bounce back as quick as we can.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re similar, we can\u2019t wait to get him out there, but we\u2019ve got to temper that with the fact that we understand his body.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smillie had surgery in November last year in what Richmond labelled \u201ca circuit breaker\u201d after a difficult debut season.<\/p>\n
Yze said one of the many considerations with Smillie\u2019s injuries and subsequent recovery was his growth. <\/p>\n
Smillie, drafted as a 195cm midfielder, grew an extra 3cm in his first year.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of those things come into calculations when you\u2019re talking to him and his family and you\u2019re looking at the frustration,\u201d Yze said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re taking all of those things into account. Looking at him today, you\u2019ll see him running around.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s in a good spot mentally. Now we\u2019ve just got to get him physically into a good spot to play.\u201d<\/p>\n