Richmond coach Damien Hardwick heaped praise on Tom Lynch following his potent performance against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.

The dual Tiger premiership star key forward kicked an equal game-high four goals in the team’s 38-point win to take his season’s tally to 47 from the 16 games he’s played.

He, arguably, is in the best form of his 12-year AFL career this season, ranking No. 1 competition-wide for contested marks and No. 2 in goals per game.

“What I’ve been really pumped with Tom is, and people have to realise, he’s been with us for a while but this is the first time he’s had a genuine pre-season. And he looks so much stronger for it,” Hardwick said in his post-match press conference.

“He’s so important to the way we play.

“I thought his ability to just halve contests, not necessarily win them tonight, was really significant.

“He finished with four goals but created a lot of others through just his sheer strength and his sheer size, which to me is the measure of a good key forward.

“You’re not going to always get the game on your terms, and you’re playing against some good defenders.

“I thought he did a marvellous job tonight at bringing himself into the game and also those around him.”