Triple Richmond premiership star defender Bachar Houli had an instant impact against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval last Friday night in what was his first AFL game since last year’s Grand Final.

Houli, although understandably looking a bit rusty at times, showed no signs of the severe calf injury that he had been battling to overcome since the 2020 Grand Final victory over Geelong.

He had 26 disposals, six rebound-50s, six intercepts, five score involvements, 481 metres gained and took a game-high 11 marks in the Tigers’ two-point loss to Port.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick liked what he saw from Houli first-up and believes he will be much better for the run.

“I thought he was good,” Hardwick said.

“He hasn’t trained a lot, so he’ll get better as he progresses through the rounds upcoming.

“The way the game is played at the moment, it suits guys like Bachar.”