Richmond coach Adem Yze has lauded the talents of draftee Taj Hotton, who is set to make his footballing return after recovering from an ACL injury suffered pre-draft.
Hotton was one of the most highly-touted prospects heading into the 2024 draft, but his season-ending injury saw him fall to Pick 12, taken with the Tigers' third pick in their mega draft haul.
Now the teenage talent will be unveiled in the VFL for the first time this weekend, playing in Richmond's reserves curtain-raiser against the Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium.
Yze confirmed the news as he mentioned the availability of a trio of young talent.
"Taj is going to play some footy this weekend, which is awesome for him and the footy club, and it's exciting," Yze said on Thursday.
"He's gonna play three quarters, so he'll just start integrating into playing, which is great.
"Josh (Smillie) will be back in the next three or four weeks. He's going through a training block at the moment, so he's not too far away.
"Sammy Lalor's not too far away; he might be back in the next week or two, so the excitement around that is great."
Yze didn't douse any flames of expectation for the Sandringham Dragons product, comparing Hotton to a livewire former Tiger ahead of his debut in yellow and black uniform.
"He's obviously a talented forward that can play midfield. You don't want to liken him to anyone but he's got the same traits as Shai (Bolton), he can mark, he can jump, he can be so silky, but he's just a great teammate," Yze said.
"He works so hard, he wants to play midfield so he'll get some of that exposure this weekend, but we've got to temper that with the fact that he's been out for 12 months and we just want to get him enjoying playing footy again.
"We're not going to rush him into anything. It's exciting for our footy club, and he's obviously a highly talented kid.
"He felt like he was ready a couple of weeks ago... we held him back, and we can't wait to see him put the jumper on for the first time."
Yze said the Hotton news was exciting and one to be grateful for, as the Tigers also deal with the "flattening" reality of another ACL injury to youngster Judson Clarke.
Clarke suffered his third ACL rupture in the VFL against Sydney, following the exact same knee injury in 2024, and another on his opposite leg when he was 16.
"On the flipside, we lose Judson Clarke. How flattening that was going into the bye with a guy that's worked so hard, and to have that taken away from him in the middle part of the year is the reason we're so grateful for the opportunity (to unveil young talent)... You can see how quickly it can get taken away from you," the Tigers coach said.
"...He (Clarke) is probably the most positive person I've ever met, and this has flattened him a bit. Our medical team are doing an amazing job, looking at all avenues and whether they do something different this time.
"They'll go through that and work that out. I think he's going to be operated on this week."
Richmond's AFL match takes place on Sunday evening against the Bulldogs, following the reserves' earlier fixture at Marvel Stadium.