Amid the gloom of Richmond’s disappointing loss to Melbourne at the MCG in last Friday night’s Anzac Day eve clash, one Tiger player shone like a lighthouse . . .

Shane Edwards was the Tigers’ best player by the length of the ‘G, finishing with 24 disposals, including 16 contested possessions, seven clearances, six inside-50s, five tackles and two goals in a performance that further underlined his growing importance to the Richmond line-up.

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“He was a real positive,” Richmond assistant coach Ross Smith said on ‘The Richmond Review’ immediately after the game.

“Shane’s just been terrific, not only the way he’s been playing, but also the way he’s been leading as well this year.”

Edwards’ teammate Steven Morris concurred with Smith’s assessment of the talented small forward/midfielder.

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“He’s improved out of sight, Shane, and he is starting to really help other players around him, around the Club,” Morris said.

“He was quite quiet when I got to the Club, but now he speaks up in meetings, and he’s starting to impart some of the things that he’s learnt and some of the things that he does so very well, on other younger players around him, which is a real positive for our footy club. 

“He’s playing some seriously good footy at the moment . . . Hopefully the other boys, we can all start to take a leaf out of his book.”