RICHMOND'S Daniel Connors helped his side to victory with two vital last-quarter goals in its narrow 12-point win over Greater Western Sydney at Skoda Stadium.
But, more importantly, he took another step forward in winning back the trust and respect of his teammates.
Suspended twice by the club over the previous 18 months due to alcohol-related incidents, Connors was just about on his last chance with the Tigers entering 2012.
Playing his first game for the season at a wet Skoda Stadium in Sydney, Connors finished with three goals for the game, including two after the plucky Giants had closed to within six points late in the fourth term.
Richmond prevailed 11.20 (86) to 12.2 (74) on what coach Damien Hardwick said was an extremely important day for 23-year-old Connors.
"He started off slow, but credit to Daniel, he fought his way through the conditions," Hardwick said.
"It's been a real credit to him that he's fought his way back into the side.
"He had to earn the trust of the playing group and coaching staff again and he's done that.
"It's a great reward for him to kick three in the end he made a really solid contribution defensively.
"He put his game forward and will certainly be part of the short-term future at the moment with the games coming up."
Asked if his career had been in jeopardy, Hardwick replied: "There's no doubt and that's well-documented and Dan would tell you that himself.
"He's still got a long way to go and has a number of areas to improve his football and also his durability as a footballer."
Richmond may face some criticism for its performance against the young GWS side, but Hardwick was far from concerned.
His Tigers played in terrible conditions for the second straight week and heads into the bye with a solid 6-6 record.
And he felt the Giants deserved plenty of praise.
"We had 31 scoring shots to 14, we just couldn't get the scoreboard pressure," he said.
"We had the ball inside 50 a hell of a lot more, we just couldn't get the result on the scoreboard, and the opposition kicked 12.2.
"All credit to that footy club next door, they're going to be an outstanding unit and they've recruited very well.
"They're going to be very, very good, very, very quickly, which is a concern for the rest of us."
James Dampney covers Sydney AFL news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_JD
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the AFL or the clubs
