Cornes: Something must be done about Richmond’s injury crisis

Richmond has an injury crisis on its hands.

News that emerging star Sam Lalor has a “partial Achilles injury” sent shivers through the Tiger Army on Thursday evening.

It’s the latest in a long list of names in the medical room at Punt Road. That is 16 now.

Jasper Alger, Harry Armstrong, Sam Banks, Judson Clarke, Josh Gibcus, Taj Hotton, Ryan Mansell, Toby Nankervis, Zane Peucker, Hugo Ralphsmith, Maurice Rioli, Tom Sims, Josh Smillie, Kaleb Smith, Tim Taranto are those names. Add Lalor.

Some are impact injuries and can be considered unlucky. But there’s more than enough for Tigers fans to be worried about.

As a result old this crisis, Kane Cornes believes questions must be asked of Richmond’s high performance boss Ben Serpell.

“Ben, you’re in the gun, because your injury list at the Tigers is bordering on crisis levels, absolute crisis levels,” Cornes said on SEN’s Fireball.

“Nankervis hammy, Smith groin, Rioli hammy - there's a few that aren't Ben's fault like Harry Armstrong’s foot, Ralphsmith's knee is clearly not his problem.

“But Smillie quad, we’ve got Hotton hip, and the biggest one was Lalor with Richmond confirming a partial Achilles injury at training yesterday. This can range from anywhere between six weeks to 12 months, I've read.

“So Ben Serpell, the high performance manager at the Tigers, you're in the gun.”

The Richmond natives are growing restless amid a full-on rebuild which was supposed to show signs of improvement again in 2026.

But the lack of availability of key players and developing youngsters alike has left Adem Yze without many options.

Cornes wants a full-scale investigation into what is happening at Punt Road, just like the San Francisco 49ers did amid an injury crisis after they moved to Levi’s Stadium in 2014.

“I've had so many Richmond fans reach out to me - and they hate me, Richmond fans - but they've actually reached out to me and said, ‘Can you do us a favour and put our medical and high performance team in the gun?’,” Cornes added.

“Because this is a crisis, an absolute crisis. Honestly, something needs to be done.

“The San Francisco 49ers, who've had an injury curse over there in the States, investigated all sorts of things to the point where their training facility is next to an electromagnetic field. I don't know if Punt Road is next to anything. Is it next to anything untoward here?

“Tigers fans are pulling their hair out. Ben Serpell, you’re in the gun.”

Defender Ben Miller says the playing group is shattered for Lalor after his setback.

“He went and got scans after training and I don’t think they thought too much of it at the time,” Miller said on SEN WA Breakfast.

“But we got the message on the plane that said he was out. They don’t have a timeline yet, I’m not sure how long that type of stuff takes.

“He’s a great young kid, he works so hard, he’s had a really good start to the season for us. Absolutely shattered for him.”

Throw in the recent news from AFL Media's Cal Twomey that former No.9 draft pick Josh Gibcus will now miss the remainder of the season and it is a complete disaster for the Tigers.

Gibcus, who has been cruelled by ACL and hamstring issues, sprained his ACL in the VFL last weekend and will wear a knee brace for six weeks before undergoing surgery in eight weeks.

The only positive is that plenty of Tigers are getting an opportunity in 2026 as the winless side prepare to meet West Coast in Perth.

Apart from the 23 players selected to take on the Eagles, plus the three emergencies - Luke Trainor, Noah Roberts-Thomson and Samson Ryan - only one listed Tiger, Liam Fawcett, is fit to play.