Richmond great Matthew Richardson has paid a glowing tribute to talented defender Nick Vlastuin for his top-class performances since returning to the Tigers’ senior side after being sidelined for a couple of months with a severe shoulder injury.

Vlastuin is averaging a highly-impressive 19.6 disposals, 8.5 marks and 5.5 rebounds in his past six games and he has further strengthened an already quality Richmond defensive unit.

“He’s in career-best form,” Richardson said on this week’s episode of Richmond’s official podcast ‘Talking Tigers’.

“I really liked Nick when he first came on to the scene and thought he was a bona fide AFL player right from day one . . .

“He’s really come on in leaps and bounds, particularly in the last five or six weeks.

“His form is outstanding at half-back . . .

“We hear about (David) Astbury’s great year, (Alex) Rance, we’ve been giving him accolades for a long time, and (Dylan) Grimes. But, gee, Vlastuin’s just as important down there, I think.”

Richardson believes Vlastuin’s courage is the cornerstone of his game, although he also possesses many other important on-field attributes.

“At half-back, you need that courage to go back and stand in front of the high ball,” Richardson said.

“He’s a good mark, he reads the play well, he’s hard at it, he’s good below his knees, he’s composed, and his ball use in the last month or so has been outstanding.

“And I think he’s a real leader . . . he’s got great leadership qualities.

“He’s been the biggest positive, for mine, in the last little bit.”