Dustin Martin will MISS Richmond’s crunch clash against Carlton with illness while Melbourne suffer another blow with skipper Max Gawn sidelined for up to FIVE weeks
- Dustin Martin will not be available for Richmond’s crunch clash with Carlton
- The Tigers superstar has suffered a bad bout of the flu this week, the club says
- Meanwhile, Melbourne captain Max Gawn will be out for up to five weeks
Richmond megastar Dustin Martin will miss Thursday night’s AFL blockbuster against a Carlton team featuring a mid-season draftee.
Martin hasn’t trained this week because of a bad bout of the ‘flu but the Tigers’ key forward Tom Lynch will return from a hamstring strain for the MCG fixture.
‘Dustin unfortunately has got a very bad case so he will probably be sitting on the sidelines at home with a cup of soup,’ Richmond coach Damien Hardwick told reporters on Wednesday.
Dustin Martin will miss Richmond’s crucial clash against Carlton after a bad case of the flu
‘He is not too well … he obviously came down with it over the weekend and just hasn’t responded well.’
Lynch returns for his first game since suffering a hamstring injury on May 21 while the Tigers have dropped Ivan Soldo.
Richmond’s spearhead Lynch could be pitted against mid-season draftee Sam Durdin, who will make his debut for the Blues.
Meanwhile, Melbourne captain Max Gawn will be sidelined for up to five weeks because of an ankle injury in the latest blow to the club’s AFL premiership defence.
The Tigers superstar missed the Round 1 blockbuster with the Blues and is unavailable again
Gawn will miss between three and five weeks after suffering a syndesmosis injury in his left ankle during Monday’s loss to Collingwood.
That result was the Demons’ third consecutive defeat and came after Steven May was suspended for a fight with teammate Jake Melksham at a Melbourne restaurant.
The AFL on Wednesday said it won’t impose additional sanctions on May or Melksham after holding its own investigation into their brawl.
Melbourne banned May for one game and ordered both the key defender and Melksham to perform community service.
Meanwhile, Demons captain Max Gawn will miss up to five weeks with a syndesmosis injury
‘After multiple interviews and review of CCTV vision from the night, the AFL is satisfied the initial club-imposed sanctions are appropriate and will take no further action,’ the AFL said in a statement.
‘The club has taken the matter extremely seriously however the AFL wishes to reinforce that no matter the situation or circumstances, violence is never the answer.
‘As professional footballers, as people, we expect better.’