Richmond debutant Jacob Bauer’s misfortune in last night’s clash with Sydney at the MCG proved to be a stroke of luck for teammate Jack Ross.

Bauer, just a couple of minutes into his first appearance at senior level with the Tigers, suffered a hamstring injury that, unfortunately, sidelined him for the rest of the match.

Ross, who had been omitted from the side thumped by Brisbane at the Gabba the previous week, was named as the interchange substitute for the game against the Swans.

When Bauer was ruled out with his hamstring issue, Ross entered the playing field determined to make the most of the opportunity presented to him in unfortunate circumstances – and he did so in emphatic style.

The 22-year-old wingman/midfielder ended up being one of the Tigers’ best players in their fighting 13-point win.

He finished with 20 disposals, six marks, three inside-50s, three rebound-50s, five intercepts, two goals (2.2), eight score involvements and 518 metres gained.

Interim Richmond coach Andrew McQualter paid tribute to Ross in his post-match press conference.

“Really pleased for ‘Rossy’,” McQualter said.

“He was pretty stiff to go out of the team and become sub tonight. But I thought it was just a great bounce-back from him.

“The areas we asked him to work on in his game we saw tonight, and it was great to see him get some reward for his effort that he puts in.”

McQualter also acknowledged Jacob Bauer’s wretched luck in his AFL debut.

“Poor bugger. Two kicks in two minutes and then off with a ‘hammy’,” McQualter said.

“Not really sure how severe, but obviously being unable to come back on, you assume he’ll miss a couple of weeks.

“It’s a real shame for him.”