RICHMOND expects comeback kid Graham Polak to hold his spot in the senior side for next week's trip across the Nullarbor to face West Coast at Subiaco on Friday night.

Polak, 25, played his first senior game in over 12 months on Saturday evening after being hit by a tram in June last year.

After the match, coach Jade Rawlings said he expected Polak to make the trip west.

"We haven't had match committee yet but I'm pretty sure he'll play again next week, and once again, we'll let his actions do the talking," he said.

Polak himself said he "pulled up fine" from his first senior game since round 14 last year, and looked forward to returning to his native Perth for another crack.

"It's always great to be back out there. It's not the result we wanted, but it's great to get through," he said.

"It took me a little bit to get my hands on the ball at the start, but once I did that, I felt a lot more comfortable out there and I got a lot more confidence.

"If I do get picked next week, it will be good to represent Richmond in front of my home crowd over there."

Polak's return against Hawthorn will be better remembered for the way he constantly put his head over the ball than the six possessions he amassed.

"I said during the week I wasn't going to shy away and I was going to put my body on the line. Whatever it takes," he said.

"I'm happy to do that and my head survived alright."

Polak wore a helmet for the game, which he said wasn't a doctor's order but "made him feel more comfortable."

He said he will don the head gear again next weekend, and would reassess whether he would need it for future games at the end of the year.

Overall, he said he "absolutely" wanted to continue to play football, and believed he had much more to offer the club that traded for him at the end of 2006.

"It's hard to put a number on it, but I think I've got a lot of improvement," he said.

"Obviously my first [senior] hit-out was always going to be shaky, and I think I can build on this now and become a better player."

Rawlings said he "wasn't surprised at all" with the way Polak was willing to put his body on the line.

"Offensively it didn't work out too well for him, but gee, he had a dip," he said.

"Nearly every time he was involved in a contest, he was prepared to put his body on the line.

"He chased down, laid a few good tackles as well. You walk away saying he really competed, and he probably blew up a bit and found it hard to get off his man after being out of the game for so long.

"I coached him in round one this year against Frankston and he just played with the same free spirit he played with before the accident.

"I've seen the way he's committed his body building up to this game so it wasn't of any surprise to me."

Polak, who had his mother Judy, fiancée Alyce and three brothers in attendance, was planning a "quiet night" after the match.