Richmond's General Manager of Football, Neil Balme, says he would be surprised if recruit Tom Lynch doesn’t make his debut as a Tiger in round one against Carlton.

Balme, who spoke to Macquarie Sports Radio on Tuesday afternoon, said the former Gold Coast captain, who had surgery to repair his posterior cruciate ligament in July, is on schedule for the season opener in eight weeks’ time.

“The medical report is that he’s going as well as expected, even better,” he said. 

“We’ve been pretty conservative, but he’s been running the whole time, he’s looking pretty good, he’s kicking the footy.

“He did a drill with the players up at the (Gold Coast) camp and they all raced over and congratulated him.”

Balme expects Lynch to fit into Richmond’s forward line equation with ease, as he takes on the role as the invaluable second tall the Tigers have been seeking for some time.

“It’s really two Jack’s in the team,” Balme said.

“(Riewoldt and Lynch) both have similar strengths in that that they know where the ball is going, they’re very good markers, they kick goals, so I reckon if you’ve got two of them you’re going to be better off.

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“It does make you not quite as impactful around the scrimmage, around the crumbs, but I think we’ll be able to make up for that with the extra quality tall.

“We’ll see how the others fit around them…it’s a great problem to have.”