Nick Vlastuin has been an ultra-consistent player throughout his 239-game career with Richmond.
The Tigers triple premiership star defender has produced numerous top-class performances – but none better than Saturday night's against Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium.
You could mount a strong argument that Vlastuin’s display versus the Suns was the best of his illustrious AFL career.
Vlastuin was impenetrable across the Richmond backline, repeatedly thwarting Gold Coast's inside-50 entries.
He finished the match with 27 disposals (24 of them kicks, which is an AFL career-high for him), 10 contested possessions, a game-high 13 marks (four of them contested), a game-high 11 rebound-50s, game-high and AFL career-high 15 intercepts, four tackles, three score involvements and a team-high/AFL career-high 661 metres gained.
It was a mighty display that was pivotal to the Tigers pulling off a stirring upset win against the previously unbeaten Suns this season.
What made it even more special for Vlastuin was the fact that Saturday (April 19) was his 31st birthday.
“Good happy birthday. Love to celebrate every birthday like that. It’s unreal. Just builds belief against a good side, Gold Coast,” Vlastuin told Richmond Media in a post-game interview.
“I played under ‘Dimma’ (Suns coach Damien Hardwick) for 10 years, so I kind of knew their game style.
“We knew they like to contest, so you could kind of set yourself for that.
“The pressure up the field was unbelievable."
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