New Richmond co-captain Dylan Grimes is not ruling himself out of the Tigers' AFL season-opener despite his thumb still being in a cast following surgery.
The triple premiership defender injured his thumb during the second quarter of Richmond's practice match win against Hawthorn on Saturday.
Grimes had an operation on Monday to fix the issue and turned up at the AFL captain's day on Wednesday with his left hand in plaster.
But the 30-year-old is still determined to lead the Tigers out onto the MCG against rivals Carlton on March 16, alongside fellow skipper Toby Nankervis.
"I had surgery two days and it's still feeling pretty tender and sore but it's one of those ones that can turn around pretty quick," Grimes said, just eight days out from Richmond's round-one match.
"We haven't even ruled out round one yet so there's hopefully still a chance that can happen in my eyes."
Grimes' potential absence against the Blues would have been a bigger blow for Richmond if not for the off-season recruitment of Robbie Tarrant.
After the retirements of Bachar Houli and David Astbury, the Tigers' defence is younger than it has been for years.
But Tarrant, a 174-game veteran at North Melbourne, adds serious experience and strength to Richmond's backline.
"Selfishly, I was jumping at the idea of getting Robbie over to us," Grimes said.
"He's freed me up a lot over the pre-season and he's a really stable, big body and just a terrific guy and leader.
"He's made my role a lot easier working with some younger backs as well.
"It's meant a real weight has been lifted off our other leaders on to perform."
It is a different leadership set-up at Punt Rd for the first time since 2013, with triple premiership captain Trent Cotchin stepping down after nine seasons in charge.
Grimes and Nanverkis are determined to lift the Tigers back up the ladder after they missed the finals last season for the first time since 2016.
"There's been a lot of things in the process (since becoming co-captain) for me that's allowed me to have an even great level of appreciation for what Trent's done for the last decade for our footy club," Grimes said.
"It's a huge responsibility now, but I'm just so lucky to have Trent still out there to be able to learn from."
