RICHMOND WON’T RUSH DION BACK

RICHMOND won’t rush back triple premiership star Dion Prestia from his latest hamstring injury, with the 2019 club champion possibly still a fortnight away from returning.

Coach Damien Hardwick told reporters on Thursday morning that Prestia and important defender Nick Vlastuin (knee) were on a similar timeline.

“Dion’s very important to the way we play. He’s had some history with hamstrings before,” Hardwick said.

“It’s not a significant event but the reality is we have to respect it for what it is and once Dion’s back available we want him available for the remainder of the year, so we won’t rush him in that format.”

This also won’t be the week that exciting father-son prospect Maurice Rioli Jnr makes his muchanticipated AFL debut, even though he’s surprised his coach with his rapid progress.

The Tigers bared their teeth in an 86-point spanking of St Kilda last week and face a fascinating early season test against unbeaten Melbourne on Saturday night in the annual Anzac Day eve game.

The clash pits competition heavyweights Dustin Martin and Christian Petracca against one another, but Hardwick doused expectations they would face off on the field.

“They both play mid-forward, so they’ll stand next to each other at certain stages, but they won’t be playing on each other at any stage,” Hardwick said.

“They’ll shake each other’s hands at the start of the game and that’s as close as they’ll get, I’d imagine.”