In terms of an on-field assignment for a young key defender playing just his ninth game of AFL football, it doesn’t get any bigger than that which talented Tiger cub Josh Gibcus tackled against Sydney at the SCG last night.

Gibcus had the arduous task of curbing the Swans’ superstar spearhead Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin, a player who kicked his 1000th goal in the competition earlier this season and regarded by many as the best performer of the modern league football era.

But the 19-year-old, who was Richmond’s first pick (No. 9 overall) in last year’s AFL national draft, wasn’t overawed by the magnitude of the task.

He repaid the faith shown in him by Tigers coach Damien Hardwick, managing to restrict Franklin until late in the game when the sheer weight of inside-50 entries by the Sydney side enabled the goalkicking great to get on top.

Gibcus was subsequently moved forward, and further underlined his considerable potential by steering through a crucial set-shot goal from about 50 metres out.

“I thought he was really good,” Hardwick said.

“He’s got good leg speed, Josh, and we rate him highly.

“It was a good opportunity for him to learn from one of the best players.

“It’s hard to say Buddy was under control, but I think up until three-quarter time he did a reasonable job. He (Franklin) got three (goals) in the last.

“Josh, in fairness, probably got a little bit tired, and then we moved Dylan (Grimes) on to him.

“I think Josh had a couple kicked on him, as did ‘Dyl’.

“So, overall, Buddy was an impactful player, but we were pretty happy with the way the kid did his job tonight as well.”