Fremantle and Richmond expected to avoid wet weather from cyclone Narelle as Seth Campbell trains in goggles

Fremantle and Richmond look set to dodge a massive bullet with Optus Stadium expected to be spared from the worst of Saturday’s wet weather conditions throughout their round three clash. Speedy Tigers forward Seth Campbell came fully prepared for torrential rain, spending part of Friday’s training session wearing swimming goggles as Cyclone Narelle hit Western Australia. But meteorologist Jess Lingard told The West Australian that the worst of the conditions would be experienced before lunchtime and there was barely any chance the game would be delayed by lightning. That was music to Richmond’s ears given they need the match to finish on time to catch their flight home after the game. Under recently revised regulations, players will spend a minimum of 30 minutes in the changerooms if lightning is detected within 10km of the stadium. The Tigers are also rank $11 outsiders for the clash and are missing a host of experienced stars. Last week’s game between GWS and St Kilda started more than 50 minutes late due to lightning in New South Wales. A similar delay would almost certainly force Richmond to remain in Perth for the night. The Tigers’ pre-season match against Melbourne in Ballarat was interrupted by lighting twice, forcing that clash to be abandoned during the third quarter. Richmond’s final training session at Mineral Resources Park took place without any rain and little wind on Friday despite heavy falls for most of the day. The Tigers were forced to move their session from Optus Stadium to West Coast’s home base because of the wet weather, but didn’t have to deal with anything out of the ordinary. Campbell’s goggles were the only sign of the threats from Cyclone Narelle. “He must have lost a bet or a dare. He’s having a bit of fun with it,” defender Ben Miller said. Fremantle will have a vastly more experienced team than Richmond after Brennan Cox and Jaeger O’Meara returned from injury to replace Nathan O’Driscoll and Oscar McDonald. Richmond lost nearly 600 games worth of experience amid injuries to captain premiership trio Toby Nankervis, Tom Lynch and Nathan Broad. Fremantle will have a massive advantage in the ruck as Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy take on Mykelti Lefau and Campbell Gray. The Tigers pair are both only 195cm tall and have combined for just 22 hit outs from a combined 16 AFL games. “I’m sure we will be at a disadvantage height-wise but we’ve got Lefau and Campbell Gray. They’ll put up a good fight,” Miller said. “(Gray) is one of those players who can play across all three lines. He was originally a forward, he’s done a fair bit of time down back during this pre-season and he’s found himself in the ruck this week. Great versatility from him is pretty much what we ask. He’s a big boy who can run and give us a contest. “(Lefau) has played a fair bit of ruck in his three or four years for us. He did it at VFL as well. He’s like Campbell. He’s a great athlete and has got a big tank. l think he can run and he can jump.”