Richmond coach Damien Hardwick is buoyed by the arrival at the Club of tall, athletic ruckman, Shaun Hampson, via the trade period in October.

Hampson, who played 63 games in seven seasons with Carlton, is seen by Hardwick as an ideal back-up for the Tigers’ No. 1 ruckman Ivan Maric.

“We felt with Ivan we were probably putting him in a situation where we were running him into the ground,” Hardwick said.

“We’re really looking forward to that combination grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck and to have ruck dominance throughout the whole period of a game.”

Hardwick also expressed overall satisfaction with Richmond’s recruiting over the past couple of months, which has netted the Club a further seven players (Hampson, Ben Lennon, Nathan Gordon, Sam Lloyd, Todd Banfield, Anthony Miles, Matt Thomas).

“Our recruiting guys have done a terrific job once again,” he said.

“The great thing about it, from a coaching point of view, and a football club overall, is every November you get to improve your side, and that’s what we did again this year.”