VETERAN RICCARDI SET TO EARN RECALL TO FACE DEMONS
Mark Heenan 3 May 2006

By Mark Heenan of AAP GEELONG appears poised to recall 282 game AFL veteran Peter Riccardi for Friday night’s clash against Melbourne at the MCG. Cats' coach Mark 'Bomber' Thompson indicated Riccardi, 33, would replace Brent Prismall who broke his arm during Geelong’s 22-point loss to Sydney at Telstra Stadium last Saturday. Forward Kent Kingsley is also likely to return from injury.

19-year-old Prismall who collided with teammate David Wojcinski will be sidelined for two months and has undergone surgery to insert a plate into his left forearm. “Peter is a very good player for us, he’ll come back in,” Thompson said. “He's just going to add enormous leadership and we really have been lacking that."

Riccardi impressed with his first match in the VFL last weekend after recovering from a hamstring injury. “He's a bit of a waste playing in the VFL," Thompson said of Riccardi, who made his debut against West Coast in round four of 1992.

"He (Riccardi) really dominated (in the VFL) and looked like a really classy player, so I'm glad he's back playing.” Thompson believed Riccardi deserved the opportunity to reach the 300-game milestone in what looms as his final AFL season.

Meanwhile, spearhead forward Kent Kingsley (hamstring) and Henry Playfair (knee) remain in the mix for selection as the Cats attempt to snap a three-game losing streak against the in-form Demons. Kingsley trained at Skilled Stadium on Wednesday but appeared to twinge his hamstring later during the session.

“Slowly, slowly (the side is getting back to normal), I think we have only (got) four players that are unavailable this weekend,” Thompson said.

Enigmatic forward Steve Johnson and dynamic on-baller Shannon Byrnes are also pushing for a recall, while key defender Tom Harley (knee) and Paul Koulouriotis (thigh) will resume via the VFL.

In other news, Thompson backed the AFL’s landmark decision to award Fremantle the four points during their controversial drawn match against St Kilda in Launceston on Sunday. “My wish would be that (the Dockers) get the game, I'm not sure whether that's going to happen or not,” Thompson said.

"I just think that if you're Chris Connolly and the Fremantle Football Club, you'd try as hard as you could to possibly get the points because morally they have won the game. The game stopped, it ended as far as time was concerned.”

Melbourne has won two of their last three encounters against Geelong by an average margin of 24 points.