Richmond coach Adem Yze says it would be "getting a bit cute" by selecting key defender Noah Balta for Saturday's twilight clash against GWS amid his mandated 10 pm curfew.
The Tigers kick off their clash at 4:15 pm at ENGIE Stadium, with Yze flirting with the notion of playing Balta on limited minutes, ensuring he returns home in time to meet the restriction imposed by his assault charge.
Instead, the 25-year-old will feature in the club's curtain-raiser at 12:30 pm, with the Richmond coach making it clear he didn't want to "disrespect" the punishment handed to Balta, nor
"We'd be getting a bit cute if we did that and subbed him out because there could be risk that someone else gets injured and then we're putting others at risk," Yze said.
"We looked at the option of playing him in the seniors and getting him back on time, but it was just going to be too risky.
"We don't want to go and mess with that. We understand what he's going through (and) it's just around performance, and if we can get a game into him, we'll do that.
"It was the only game we considered these things, it wasn't to disrespect what he's going through, it was just around performance and whether we could keep the momentum of him playing.
"Jake Batchelor, our VFL coach, is pretty happy he's going to be available for the pre-game."
Despite coming in and out of the side, Yze said it's imperative for Balta's readiness and mental well-being to continue playing football when he can.
"If he's going in and out, it's obviously hard with performance and the stress of going in and out and what it does to your body," Yze added.
"But his wellbeing is really important as well, to go in and out of AFL footy is really tough, you see that with injuries.
"As long as we can get him back on time, he's going to go play VFL. It's an earlier game, and he'll come back on his own flight.
"He'll travel (there) with the team, go help our younger defenders in the VFL and get another game into him.
"It'll give him a better chance at performing the following week. We looked at that and we'll do that."
Along with the Giants clash, Balta will also be unavailable for Rounds 18 (July 12, Essendon) and 19 (July 19, West Coast) due to the evening starts, with the curfew lifted on July 22.
