“He’s athletic, he’s 200cm, he can run, he can kick it a mile . . . he’s just got that belief he’s now an AFL-quality player, and we’re very happy that he’s started to find that form because he’s really important to us.  ‘Griff’ has obviously secured a spot . . . absolutely.  Ty is a selection decision we’ll make.  Griff, to his credit, has played consistent footy since Ty’s gone out.  Once you’re in the side, it’s hard to go out, if you’re playing a good, consistent brand of footy.”

Those words of praise from Richmond coach Damien Hardwick were sweet music to the ears of talented ‘tall’, Ben Griffiths, who has been an impressive performer in the Tigers’ line-up over the past few weeks as a replacement for suspended big man Ty Vickery.

Griffiths has averaged 11 disposals, six marks, about nine hit-outs, and a goal a game since returning to Richmond’s side for the Round 19 clash with Greater Western Sydney at the MCG as back-up to the team’s No. 1 ruckman Ivan Maric.

His impact has been much more than the raw numbers reveal, however.  He has provided the team with a significant boost due to his around-the-ground mobility and booming, long kicks.

“I’ve put in a lot of hard work, so to get that sort of feedback (from coach Hardwick) is really good to hear,” Griffiths told RSN.

“I’ve been thrown around a bit.  I’ve played down back and now I think I’ve started to secure that spot in the ruck/forward role, which really suits me, I think.”

Griffiths revealed that a particularly solid pre-season had provided the foundation for the most productive season of his five-year AFL career.

He’s played 15 games this season, which is six more than his previous best return (nine in 2012), and is really starting to look like he belongs at the elite level.

“Over the pre-season, I worked really hard with ‘Choco’ (Mark Williams) and did extra sessions after training, just working on one-on-one stuff, which is where I needed to improve my game.  I just found that if I based my game on that, the rest sort of came,” Griffiths said.

“Without putting on too much more weight, I sort of got stronger.  I think I matured a bit into my body and, obviously, being able to have the consistent training over the pre-season’s really helped me do that.”