No injury dramas with Dusty, say Tigers

Richmond have dispelled fears Dustin Martin is under an injury cloud after the superstar midfielder’s brief appearance at a training session at Punt Road.

Cameras from the AFL’s website captured Martin doing a run-through before disappearing into the change rooms while his teammates continued a two-hour session that was closed to the media and public on Friday morning.

Tigers forward Daniel Rioli added to the intrigue when he reported Martin had suffered a corkie during the qualifying final win over Hawthorn as he went for scans on a jarred finger.

But Richmond football chief Neil Balme allayed fears either were in doubt for next week’s preliminary final.

“There’s nothing wrong with them,” Balme told AAP.

“Dusty had a knock last week but it’s all right now. I don’t reckon anyone who played in that game didn’t get a knock of some description.

“We planned the training session and he did exactly what we expected him to.

“We have no doubt that he’ll be playing next week … there’s really nothing to report.”

Kane Lambert was also seen leaving the track early but was given the all-clear by Balme.

The searching session was the last hit-out for Damien Hardwick’s men before a short rest before their preliminary final clash against either Collingwood or GWS at the MCG on Friday night.

The Tigers are well placed in their bid for back-to-back premiership flags, with only forward Dan Butler struggling with injury (ankle).

“We’re really happy with the way all of them are going … we’re actually in a lucky place really,” Balme said.

“There’s probably only Dan Butler because he hasn’t played much and has still got that bit of an injury where there’s some doubt over whether he’d be available or not.”

The club also confirmed premiership veterans Shaun Grigg and Bachar Houli will play on next year.

The 30-year-olds have signed one-year deals, while young defender Oleg Markov agreed to a two-year extension.

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!