Richmond coach Adem Yze has heaped praise on returning defender Josh Gibcus, after his first AFL game in 527 days on Saturday.

Gibcus, who has been sidelined with an ACL injury and other setbacks, was given the green light for an AFL return in Round 24 against Geelong at the MCG.

And while he was subbed off with a half of football left to play, Yze explained that it was all part of his return to play plan, and injury load management.

"He's such an important player for us and we wanted to give him a taste of AFL footy before the season finished," Yze said post match.

It was an important mental barrier for both Gibcus and the Club to overcome, considering his last AFL game before Round 24, was back in 2023.

"The discussion was around whether he started as the sub, or we could sub him during the game. The risk of him doing something in the second half, I wouldn't have been able to go to sleep at night," Yze said.

"So, we gave him a taste. He is an AFL player, he's a massive part of our future and that was always going to be the plan (subbing him off). We didn't tell him that and that's why he was a bit frustrated."

Yze sat with Gibcus on the bench when the call to put him on ice came, and revealed exactly why the 22-year-old appeared flustered and disappointed.

"That's the reason why he's such a good player. He wants to win, he wants to help," Yze said.

"He had a bit of frustration for that minute or so, but after that, he was so engaged, helping every player that had come off the ground and showed some leadership, which we know he can."

Yze added the grand plan is to have the key big man a weekly feature in the AFL team going forward.

"It was good to have him out there. Good for him to get a sense of what it's going to be like next year, when he gets a full season under his belt," he said.

"Hopefully he gets some luck and really starts to string some games together, because he's a huge part of our future."