Dual Richmond premiership star key forward Tom Lynch made an excellent return to the playing field against Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium last night after missing four games with a knee injury.

Lynch was a standout for the Tigers in their 10-point loss with 13 disposals, six marks (a game-high five of them inside 50 and three contested), four inside-50s, a game-high five goals and seven score involvements.

It was the most goals he had scored in a match since the 2019 preliminary final victory over Geelong, when he also kicked five.

01:59

Round 16: Lynch bags five

Watch Tom Lynch's highlights from the Round 16 match against Gold Coast.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick heaped praise on Lynch in his post-game press conference.

“I thought he was elite. I thought he was by far the best forward on the ground and probably unlucky not to kick a couple more (goals) as well,” Hardwick said.

“He was terrific throughout the night. His contested marking was good.

07:09

Round 16: Hardwick post-match

Damien Hardwick addresses the media following the Round 16 match against Gold Coast.

“He’s missed a significant chunk of footy, so he’s only going to get better, I would think.

“You can see the difference of him moving now as he was pre-injury . . .

“We’re really pleased with the result we got from that, so we hope he can build on that in the forthcoming weeks.”