Coach Adam Yze believes Judson Clarke has earned the right to play in the Richmond jersey as the 22-year-old looks to feature in his first AFL game in more than two years.
Clarke will make his return on Saturday night against Adelaide after overcoming two knee injuries which had restricted him from tasting top-flight football since round two in 2024.
He was in line for a comeback during the 2025 campaign before he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee for the third time since 2019 while playing in the VFL.
But since then, the 22-year-old has been rebuilding, and after a month of games in the VFL, Yze believes he is finally ready to play in the big league.
"It has been a long time ... and he's earned his right to get back into our side. He's put a power of work in," Yze said on Friday.
"He went away in the off-season and did everything he could to get his body right.
"These little stories, while we're trying to grow our game and grow our team, these little moments within that are really important for our footy club to celebrate.
"He's a great kid, high energy, high speed, and a beautiful ball user. So we can't wait to see what he can do, and he's obviously got three games now to the end of the year to put that on show."
But just as Clarke looks to ignite his AFL career, his teammate Nathan Broad is winding down his glittering tenure with the club.
After announcing on Tuesday that he would be retiring, the defender now has potentially three games left with the Tigers, with whom he won the 2017, 2019 and 2020 premierships.
"He's going to leave a lasting legacy, which he should be really proud of. We want to celebrate him the right way in the next couple of weeks while he's still running around with a jumper on," Yze said.
"He's turned into a really high, highly talented player. That's really important for our footy club."
Richmond (3-17) come into the clash at Adelaide Oval fresh off snapping a dismal eight-game losing streak by beating West Coast last round.
But they will know their task to post back-to-back victories won't be easy as the Crows (13-7) look to hold onto their prized fourth spot amid a flurry of clubs hot on their heels.
