Jack Graham may have been a bit underdone taking his place in Richmond’s line-up for the blockbuster season-opener against Carlton after battling a nagging toe injury throughout the pre-season, but he still managed to be a very valuable contributor on the night.

The dual premiership Tiger, who did not play in a pre-season practice match, had 20 disposals, nine contested possessions, five inside-50s, four intercepts, five score involvements, 283 metres gained and, most importantly, applied nine telling tackles to Blues opponents, five of them in the tight, tense final term.

It was Graham at his pressure-packed best, much to the delight of his coach Damien Hardwick, who commended him on his efforts over the course of the four quarters.

“I thought Jack was terrific,” Hardwick said in his post-match press conference.

“He could have played in our VFL (practice match) last week and the week previous, but we thought we’d get some more training into him.

“I thought he was great tonight with his pressure.

“He probably left a couple of goals on the table that he would normally kick, but with match practice that will come.”