RICHMOND'S Jayden Short is the latest soon-to-be out of contract Tiger yet to open talks with the premiers, but the defender has no desire to be anywhere else after an impressive start to the season.

Short, 22, inked his last contract in October 2016 when he was officially elevated off the rookie list.

He played 16 games last year but didn't get back into the side after being dropped for round 19 and was an emergency for the Tigers' Grand Final win over Adelaide.

That omission pushed Short to take his game to another level over the summer, and he's already shown improvements with his contested work and intercepting so far this season.

"There is a bit of a drive in me to not want to lose my spot in that situation again," Short told AFL.com.au this week.

"It was hard to miss out last year, but that happens in the sport we play.

"I just wanted to make sure if that does happen, if we're there again or I find myself in that position, I've done the best I can and played as well as I could."

Short has played every game this year and has become an important part of the Tigers' backline with his foot skills and penetration on both sides.

The popular former carpenter isn't losing sleep over the fact official negotiations between his management and the club haven't begun.

"I haven't really thought about it, to be honest," he said.

"I'm just trying to hold my spot and play some good footy and I think the rest will work itself out.

"It's a great club and all us boys are getting along.

"It's like a brotherhood; we love each other and want to spend as much time as we can together."

The Tigers have put talks with a number of players on hold until the season's midpoint, with unrestricted free agents Reece Conca and Shaun Grigg also yet to start negotiations.

Premiership defender Bachar Houli, who played his 150th club game on Sunday, is also coming out of contract and will become a restricted free agent this year.

Small forward Shai Bolton is another without a deal beyond 2018, but his manager Ralph Carr has already declared he'll wait until the end of the season to open talks about the West Australian's future.

Bolton played in the opening two games of 2018 but lost his spot in round three to fellow small forward Jack Higgins and has since been unable to force his way back into the side.