Creative Richmond small forward/midfielder, Shane Edwards, has received high praise from his coach Damien Hardwick.

In last Tuesday night’s 2014 Jack Dyer Medal count, Edwards achieved the first top-five result of his eight-year AFL career, finishing in fourth place.

Watch Part 1 of Matthew Richardson’s interview with Damien Hardwick

He polled more votes than any other Richmond player during the Tigers’ nine-game winning streak in the second half of the 2014 season, which highlighted the considerable influence he exerted within the team.

“Shane’s a special type of player.  He can do a lot of things that a lot of people can’t,” Hardwick told ‘Roar Vision’.

“His agility, and his ability to make things out of nothing is outstanding, and often goes unseen in a game.

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“Our plan B, when things aren’t going well in the middle, is we chuck Shane in – and things happen for us.

“He’s become a really important player.

“It’s hard to believe he’s now a life member of our footy club (as a result of reaching the 150-game milestone with Richmond during the 2014 season).  He still looks like he’s 18-19 years of age.”