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Richmond fans turn on AFL club after 'dumb' Dion Prestia grand final move amid injury-ravaged season

Tigers fans were shocked to learn club veteran Prestia is named to compete in the 100m AFL grand final sprint.

ben talintyre
Sports Reporter
·4-min read

Richmond fans have been left livid with their own club after veteran Dion Prestia was named to compete in the 100m AFL grand final dash. The 2019 best and fairest winner is a left-field entrant into the MCG race after he missed 10 games this season due to hamstring and calf injuries.

Prestia's entrance was lodged with the AFL as the Tigers' contender despite his injury woes in the last six months. The sprint - which has been held pre-game for the last two years - was won last year by Geelong speedster Max Holmes from Brisbane’s Jaxon Prior and Melbourne’s Jed Adams.

Pictured Dion Prestia
Richmond fans have been left livid with their own club after veteran Dion Prestia was named to compete in the 100m AFL grand final dash. Image: Getty

In 2024, each team except for the Giants will have an entrant for the sprint, however, Richmond entering Prestia has raised more than a few eyebrows. The 31-year-old has missed 10 games this year and several more in recent years, most of which have been soft-tissue injuries.

And Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes was quick to flag the bizarre move to include Prestia in a sprint race where soft tissue injuries could easily occur. “This guy can’t do his shoes up without tearing a hammy and they’re going to put him out there for the half-time sprint,” Cornes said on SEN on Friday morning.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 14: Dion Prestia of the Tigers is seen injured on the bench during the 2024 AFL Round 01 match between the Carlton Blues and the Richmond Tigers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 14, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Dion Prestia missed 10 games this season due to hamstring and calf injuries. Image: Getty

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“You’ve got to run full speed, the riskiest thing you can do with soft tissue injuries and Dion Prestia is going to be participating in the half-time sprint. He can’t get through two games without pinging a hammy.” And the news went down even worse with Richmond fans who labelled the decision the "dumbest" decision possible.

"Richmond putting Dion Prestia up as the GF day sprint competitor could be the dumbest thing I have ever seen. Literally nothing good can come of this,” one fan said. While another wrote: "Have we legitimately entered Dion Prestia into the 100m sprint for Grand Final day? The one bloke on our list who would be close to the oldest and with chronic soft tissue injuries. This has to be someone winding me up surely?"

Adelaide - Will Hamill

Brisbane - Will McLachlan

Carlton - Orazio Fantasia

Collingwood - Beau McCreery

Essendon - Ben Hobbs

Fremantle - Jeremy Sharp

Geelong - Shaun Mannagh

Gold Coast - Tom Berry

Greater Western Sydney - No entry

Hawthorn - Josh Weddle

Melbourne - Oliver Sestan

North Melbourne - Eddie Ford

Port Adelaide - Jed McEntee

Richmond - Dion Prestia

St Kilda - Darcy Wilson

Sydney - Angus Sheldrick

West Coast - Jai Culley

Western Bulldogs - Riley Garcia