Tigers confident Martin will tackle Demons

Apr 23, 2017 - 7:06 AM Richmond star Dustin Martin trained at Punt Road on Sunday and appears set to take on Melbourne at the MCG on Monday night.

The star midfielder has had a light week on the training track due to groin soreness from the Tigers' 52-point win over Brisbane.

"We're pretty confident he'll be right for the game ... we've been very happy with how he's progressed thus far," coach Damien Hardwick told reporters on Sunday.

"We've got Anthony Miles on stand by in case he doesn't come up but we're pretty confident he'll get through the session and play."

The Tigers trained for just 15 minutes following Hardwick's media conference.

Martin completed the session and appeared unhindered as he took part in stoppage drills.

Following Monday night's clash, Richmond have a six-day break before they take on undefeated Adelaide at Adelaide Oval.

But Hardwick is confident Martin will be fit to handle the quick turnaround.

The Tigers will be looking to maintain their own unbeaten status when they take on the Demons, who have lost their past two games.

Hardwick brought in Oleg Markov to replace Nick Vlastuin, who is out with a concussion.

Demons coach Simon Goodwin made four unforced changes, with star forward Jesse Hogan returning after serving a two-match suspension.

"He's an impressive player isn't he?" Hardwick said.

"We've seen him through the midfield as well this year so his flexibility as a player has been important.

"We probably won't go in with a one-on-one match-up mentality ... wherever he plays we'll have a plan in place."

Former Essendon defender Michael Hibberd will play his first game for Melbourne after overcoming Achilles tendon soreness, with Jay Kennedy-Harris and Tim Smith recalled.

In other injury news for the Tigers, the club is fearing the worst after Nathan Drummond suffered a knee injury in the VFL on Saturday.

Drummond will undergo scans, but Hardwick said it was almost certain that he had ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament for the second time.

"At this stage we don't think it looks good, which is really disappointing for the lad," Hardwick said.

"He's done it before and the diligence that he went through his recovery with was enormous.

"It was a really sad day for a lot of our players who were there, but we've got complete faith in the kid that he'll get back."

Source: AAP