Brilliant Richmond key defender Alex Rance has no doubt his super-talented Tiger teammate Dustin Martin could emulate what star Geelong midfielder Patrick Dangerfield produced playing at full-forward last weekend.

Dangerfield booted five goals from 11 shots against Hawthorn at the MCG after being moved deep forward when he suffered a foot injury early in the match.

Martin has had impressive cameo roles one-out inside Richmond’s forward-50 in the past, but Rance believes he could have a major impact if used there on a more permanent basis.

“It’s a tough call for ‘Dimma’ (coach Damien Hardwick) to make, I guess, because he’s so dangerous at both ends,” Rance told SEN.

“And he is as strong as a key-position player, when it comes to one-on-one marking contests, so you can’t put a small defender on him.

“You need to put a mid-to-large defender on him.

“It’s something that if our midfield does get a bit of dominance, we’ve got that ace up our sleeve.”