Quality Richmond rebounding defender Bachar Houli made a welcome return to the playing field against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium last Saturday night following the much-publicised four-match suspension he received for striking Carlton’s Jed Lamb in Round 14.

Houli had 25 disposals, four marks, three inside-50s, nine score involvements, with 370 metres gained, in the Tigers’ 33-point victory over the Suns.

Post-game, he explained to ‘Fox Footy’ how he coped with his enforced lay-off.

“Obviously it was quite challenging going through all the tribunal stuff the week of the suspension. But good support is so important, and that’s what I had truly, from the wider community, from the Club, and everyone around,” Houli said.

“I just went on with business, trained really hard, and did everything I possibly could to return and help our team move forward and keep winning.”

Houli also spoke about the tightness of the Richmond playing group, which he believes has been a key factor in the Tigers’ re-emergence this year.

“Footy clubs are great when there are great relationships, and that’s something we’ve worked on really hard. And, credit to the boys, we’ve gained the respect of each other,” he said.

“When you connect, and you gel together, you play for each other.

“You see history and the likes of Hawthorn, when they won three or four premierships . . . they just gelled really well.

“That’s something we worked on all over pre-season and, obviously, over these 20 rounds or so.”