Dylan Grimes epitomised the ‘junkyard dog’ attitude of the Richmond defenders in yesterday’s 93-point victory over Brisbane at the MCG.

Late in the third quarter, with the Lions still goalless, Grimes showed why he is so highly regarded at Tigerland.

Brisbane ruckman Stefan Martin appeared certain to take a mark unopposed in the goal-square and register his team’s first six-pointer for the match – until Grimes produced a piece of pure defensive magic.

The ever-reliable Tiger premiership backman quickly closed in on Martin and somehow managed to get a knuckle on the ball to spoil the mark.

He then followed up to apply a superb tackle on Martin, and was duly rewarded with a holding-the-ball free kick.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick was full of praise for Grimes’ inspirational efforts in his post-match press conference.

“That’s why we love Dylan as a player. He consistently fights for everything. He’s a scrapper by nature,” Hardwick said.

“The way he plays the game, he doesn’t get a lot of plaudits outside our four walls, but he’s an incredibly valuable player.

“He had a dangerous opponent in Charlie Cameron that was pretty much unsighted today.

“We just love the way he plays.”