West Australian Sydney Stack will make his AFL return for injury-decimated Richmond, just six months after he was released from a Perth prison for breaching COVID quarantine.

Stack spent almost three weeks, including his 2020 Christmas, in jail after he breached his self-isolation conditions by partying in Northbridge.

At the time, Stack was already serving a 10-match suspension after he and Tigers teammate Callum Coleman-Jones breached the AFL’s strict COVID-19 protocols on the Gold Coast by attending a strip club before being involved in a fight outside a kebab shop.

Stack had only been allowed to enter WA on compassionate grounds to attend a family funeral, but he failed to reside at his nominated Northam address before he was caught by police during a violent punch up in the Northbridge district.

After being handed a $6000 fine, Stack returned to Melbourne where he admitted he had “a lot of work to do” to return to Richmond’s senior line up.

Now as the Tigers’ battle an ever-growing injury list, including Nick Vlastuin, Shane Edwards, Dion Prestia, Bachar Houli, Kane Lambert, Noah Balta, Nathan Broad and Coleman-Jones, Stack gets his first shot at redemption.

Sunday’s clash with Collingwood at the MCG is a must-win, with Richmond sitting ninth after three losses on the bounce.

Richmond’s injuries and Stack’s VFL form have opened the door for the 21-year-old to make his first appearance since round 13 last year, likely off half-back.

“He’s really impressed, how he’s gone about it,” coach Damien Hardwick said.

“Obviously he started a little bit behind the eight ball but his fitness has really picked up and he’s starting to see the form that we know Sydney can play with.

“What happens is everyone matures and everyone grows up at stages, don’t they? Some take a little longer than others.

“But we always thought Sydney’s on-field performance is not our biggest concern. He can play the game, there’s no doubt about that.

“What we’ve been really impressed with is how he’s gone about his life off-field.

“He’s started to get some things in place, he’s started to grow up — which is gonna make him not only a great footballer, I think, but a great person off the field also.”