Stephenson surgery deepens Roos’ woes
RICHMOND premiership player Daniel Rioli was punched in the face and star teammate Shai Bolton broke his wrist in a nightclub fight on Saturday night.
Bolton, 22, who took a contender for mark of the year against Geelong on Friday night, is expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks following the confrontation at YoYos in the city.
Richmond released a statement confirming both players were involved in the incident.
Neither is expected to be sanctioned by the club.
As the back-to-back premier’s season teeters on the brink, following a thrashing at the hands of the Cats, a group of Tigers hit the town on Saturday night to celebrate Bolton’s girlfriend’s birthday.
It was during the night that a man unknown to the players allegedly verbally abused and touched Rioli’s girlfriend.
It is understood Rioli, 24, reacted by confronting the man and was hit in the face, causing a cut under his eye that needed two stitches.
Bolton then stepped in to back-up Rioli and broke his wrist in the altercation.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said on Monday night the club was disappointed the incident occurred but stressed they would back in the two players.
“I can understand the fixation on our players, but I suppose from our point of view a player’s partner was put in an inappropriate situation that she didn’t feel comfortable with,” Hardwick said on Fox Footy’s AFL360.
“Daniel stood up and tried to eradicate the situation and was punched in the eye.
“I don’t condone violence, but the reality is if you put anyone in that situation and they’re going to stand up for their partner and their mates, and Shai was the same.
“It was a difficult situation, it’s not one ideally we want to be in, but the reality is we are where we are.”
Hardwick said the club had “spoken to the players at length” and Tigers bosses were satisfied there had been no wrongdoing on their part.
The Tigers coach said Bolton’s broken wrist occurred “just in the fracas” but he was unaware specifically how that happened.
The AFL is aware of the fight but did not comment on Monday night.
GREATER Western Sydney’s injury year from hell has continued, with key defender Lachlan Keeffe suffering an ACL rupture in the final minute of the Giants’ narrow win over Essendon.
Keeffe’s setback is to his right knee again, the same one he sustained an ACL tear on in 2012 while playing for Collingwood. The 31-year-old’s proven a bargain recruit and been particularly important this season since Aidan Corr departed for North Melbourne and both Phil Davis and Nick Haynes were sidelined.
Lachlan Keeffe.
“An altercation took place after Rioli’s girlfriend was subjected to inappropriate behaviour,” Richmond said in a statement.
“Rioli was punched after confronting the patron and suffered a cut under his eye that required two stitches.
“Bolton became involved in the ensuing altercation and sustained a fractured wrist that will require surgery. He will be sidelined for the next two to three weeks.”
Richmond was made aware of the incident by the players on Sunday afternoon.
Tigers head of football Tim Livingstone then investigated the fight, speaking to several witnesses and Richmond teammates.
It is believed their version of events supported the accounts of Rioli and Bolton.
Bolton’s injury and expected time on the sidelines comes at a bad time for Richmond which sits 4-4 after eight rounds and has a mounting casualty list.
Rioli is expected to be cleared to play against Greater Western Sydney at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.
While it is understood neither player was drinking heavily, Richmond is no stranger to late-night controversy involving its players.
Last year Sydney Stack and Callum Jones breached the AFL’s COVID-19 protocols when they left a Gold Coast hub and became involved in an early morning fight outside a strip club.
Both players were suspended for 10 matches and Richmond was fined $100,000.
NORTH Melbourne’s injury crisis deepened on Monday night as speedster Jaidyn Stephenson underwent surgery for a small scaphoid fracture.
That leaves the winless Kangaroos with at least 14 players unavailable for Saturday’s game against secondbottom Hawthorn.
Collingwood’s star Tasmanian defender Jeremy Howe is set for more time on the sidelines. Picture Michael Klein
COLLINGWOOD has been dealt a major injury blow with Tasmanian defender Jeremy Howe expected to be wiped out for almost all of the season because of surgery on his troubled hamstring.
The 30-year-old needs an operation to remove scar tissue on the right leg he
Stephenson kicked two goals against his old side Collingwood last Saturday and was one of the Kangaroos’ best players.
But the 22-year-old suffered a hairline wrist fracture in the 18-point loss, which will now keep him out until at least after the Round 12 bye.
North Melbourne was competitive against Collingwood injured in Round 5 against West Coast at Perth Stadium.
As he neared a return to the senior team, Howe felt “a grumble” in the hamstring during a weekend training session.
After meeting with specialists on Monday, it was decided he needed surgery and would not return until late in the season.
last Saturday, which gave rise to hope that the club was a chance to win its first game of the season against the Hawks in Launceston.
But new Kangaroos coach David Noble faces a tough task in trying to lift the Roos to their first win since Round 9 last year given the players already ruled out.
Stephenson and
Aiden
Howe missed most of last year with a knee injury.
“Jeremy trained exceptionally well last Thursday and all the signs were that he would return against Sydney this week,” Collingwood general manager of football Graham Wright said.
“But on the weekend he felt a grumble and we decided
Bonar (ankle) have now been added to Robbie Tarrant (kidney), Jed Anderson (ankle), Jared Polec (hamstring), Aidan Corr (foot), Luke McDonald (pectoral), Will Walker (thumb), Flynn Perez (knee), Matt McGuinness (foot), Patrick Walker (hip), Charlie Comben (leg), Dom Tyson (calf) and Kyron Hayden (hamstring).