Richmond defender David Astbury has had plenty on his plate so far in 2014.

First, it was the battle to get through a full pre-season, overcome some nagging injuries and fight for his spot in the Richmond line-up.

Once his position was secured, the 23-year-old had to quickly adjust to the task of minding some of the competition’s most dangerous power forwards.

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It is a test he has passed with flying colours so far this season.

“I’ve had a bit of luck this year, with no injuries, and I had a promising pre-season,” Astbury said.

“I didn’t really expect to be playing on guys like Trav Cloke, Tom Hawkins, Jonathon Brown and (Jarryd) Roughead, guys like that.

“I’ve really enjoyed the responsibility.  Hopefully it continues, and the coaches continue to show faith in me.”

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Astbury’s impact in the Richmond backline has not been lost on Richmond captain Trent Cotchin, who said the entire team could draw from the defender’s positive form.

“He’s played on two or three of the best forwards in the game at the moment, and done a really good job on them,” he said.

“We can’t ask anything more from him, but we can take a leaf from his book, and make sure each and every one of us is playing our role.”

Astbury is likely to come up against one of Melbourne’s in-form key forwards, Chris Dawes or James Frawley, at the MCG this Saturday.