Richmond’s No. 1 ruckman and cult hero, Ivan Maric, further underlined his value to the Tigers’ team by rising to the imposing challenge of countering in-form Essendon opponent Paddy Ryder in last Friday night’s big MCG encounter.

Maric was at his inspirational best, picking up 16 disposals, including 10 contested possessions and five inside-50s, taking six marks, winning 22 hit-outs, and kicking the final goal of the match from a trademark strong, contested grab.

“He’s a really good ruckman, Paddy (Ryder) – athletic and jumping all over me the whole night.  But my game’s all about competing, and I tried to do that four quarters,” Maric said on Channel Seven post-match.

The gallant 200cm, 28-year-old, who recently revealed that Richmond’s training standards early this season weren’t of a sufficiently high standard, declared they had now improved significantly.

“You don’t get six wins in-a-row, when you’re sitting equal bottom, if you’re not training well,” he said.

“So, we’ve improved them, set new standards every week, and that’s what we’ve got to keep doing.”