They say good things come to those who wait.

In his third year as a Richmond player, midfielder Riley Collier-Dawkins will make his long-awaited senior league debut against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG on Friday night.

The Tigers' No. 20 selection in the 2018 NAB AFL Draft, Collier-Dawkins was one of Richmond's best players in their opening round VFL win against Sandringham a fortnight ago collecting 30 disposals, eight tackles, six clearances and 10 handball receives.

In confirming the news on Wednesday morning, Richmond senior coach Damien Hardwick said he was looking forward to blooding the 21-year-old at AFL-level after honing his craft since arriving at Tigerland.

"We always knew when we drafted him that it was going to be a bit of a slow burn and he's had to work on some things in his game," Hardwick said.

"He's incredible around the ball, (but) he has had to work on his off-ball positioning and understanding how to go about getting that off-ball offensively.

"He has worked incredibly hard on that and we've started to see some real dividends this year, and even at the back end of last year.

"It's going to be a well-earned debut from our point of view and we're really excited to see what he can offer."

Collier-Dawkins will be Richmond's third debutant so far during the 2021 season, following Rhyan Mansell and Will Martyn (both in Round 4 against Port Adelaide).