AFL 2024: Richmond to manage Tom Lynch in return after opening round shocker on the Gold Coast

Richmond coach Adem Yze has refocused his players following an “embarrassing” opening round loss with returning superstar Tom Lynch to have his minutes carefully managed through Thursday’s blockbuster showdown with Carlton.

Yze reiterated his disappointment in the Tigers’ first-half effort against Gold Coast on Saturday but said the returns of Lynch, Dustin Martin and captain Toby Nankervis meant spirits were high in the five-day break before the Blues clash.

He said the short turnaround had been factored into the Tigers’ plans to reintroduce Lynch as soon as the fixture was released, but warned the star forward would be on limited minutes in his first competitive hitout since round 4 last year.

Martin is also set to be used differently coming off an interrupted fortnight with a calf injury, and will spend more time forward according to the coach.

“(Lynch) has had a big block of training, he’s been ready for a little while. There was just the management and obviously the plan around him playing (only) this game was the smartest option,” Yze said.

“But we’ve got to temper that with the fact we’ve still got to manage him through his first game of footy for 12 months.

“He’s not going to have massive game time, he’s going to be off the ground which he’s not going to like, but he’s just too important for us to go out and string him out for 100 minutes of the game.”

Yze said game time for Lynch against the Blues wouldn’t be as low as “50 per cent”, but it would be reduced from his usual on-field split which hovers above 90 per cent.

“He’s a competitive guy – he’ll want to have an impact on the game. He’s normally a very high game time player, so that will just drop a little bit, not to say he’s playing 50 per cent because we want him out there a fair bit more than that,” he said.

Martin enjoyed a strong summer before his corked calf during a training session a fortnight ago, but Yze flagged he would spend less time in the midfield against Carlton in a possible tag-team role with Shai Bolton.

“Yeah (Martin) will get his opportunity, he’ll get a bit of both, he’ll play forward, he’s obviously had an interrupted couple of weeks, but we do like what he does at centre bounces so he’ll get an opportunity to do both again,” Yze said.

“For him and Shai (Bolton), having the flexibility to play forward and midfield is a blessing for us.”

The Tigers look set to bring Nankervis back in at the expense of both Opening Round rucks, with Samson Ryan and Sam Naismith both making way and Noah Balta to take up the support role.

Yze backed his young key defenders to take on Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay after they were humbled by Suns duo Ben King and Jack Lukosius in Gold Coast’s 11-goal first-half onslaught last week.

“We’ve got some options, but I think that’s going to keep me up at night, the two big forwards for the Blues,” he said.

“They’re in really good form, they’re two amazing players and we’ve got an awesome opportunity for some young players.”