It will be an emotional return for Richmond when Judson Clarke walks onto the Adelaide Oval on Saturday to face the Crows.
Clarke will return to an AFL field for the first time in 867 days after suffering two anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries since the 2024 season.
On April 13, 2024, he ruptured his ACL in a VFL game. More than a year later (June 7, 2025), Clarke ruptured it again, marking the third time he's suffered the serious knee injury in his career.
He's spent the past month in the VFL in a bid to return to the AFL once again, and after 16 disposals and six marks against the Footscray Bulldogs, Tigers coach Adem Yze called out his name.
"I'm excited to feel like a footy player again. There was a period of time in rehab, five or six months, where you feel like you're just stuck. I lost the feeling of being a footballer, and felt like a rehabber," Clarke said.
"It's good to reflect on the hardship and realise how strong you can be. The resilience was good to reiterate how strong my brain is. There's no doubt that my injuries have shaped who I am and who I'll be in the future."
Clarke joined the Tigers when he was taken with Pick 30 in the 2021 National Draft, and has been limited to 17 senior games of football - 13 coming in 2023 - and 31 reserves matches.
