While the results haven't yet gone the way of Richmond in 2026, it's hard to ignore the emergence of a new presence up forward in Liam Fawcett.

The Tigers went down to GWS during their Round 5 Gather Round clash in the Barossa Valley, but Fawcett, in just his third AFL match, kicked three goals, and combined for a strong showing alongside fellow key Mykelti Lefau in front of the big sticks.

The ever-humble 20-year-old, who helped spark Richmond in its strong second and third terms, heaped praise on those around him.

"I thought [in] our second and third quarters, we played our type of footy, played a front-half game, came at them and stopped their run," Fawcett said.

"We actually looked really good in that third quarter especially, we were flying at it, bringing the ball to ground, smalls getting active and getting to work."

Fawcett and Lefau kicked seven of Richmond's 11 majors, as a young Tigers forward line continues to grow.

"We spoke about how dangerous we felt up forward. Even our smalls, getting to the front, providing a contest. That's all we needed to do," Fawcett said.

"We felt real dangerous all day, we just need to convert a bit more."

But the work needs to start at the first contest, with the Tigers slipping away early in the game, which proved costly as a comeback felt too far out of reach.

"When you start like that, with that first quarter, and finish like that with the last quarter, it's pretty disappointing," Fawcett said.

"We will get to that this week and sort that stuff out. It's pretty disappointing, but we will do better."

A tough challenge awaits, with a confident North Melbourne the next opponent, on Sunday at Marvel Stadium.

For Fawcett, it's a few tweaks in the team's game that will hold them in good stead against a fast Kangaroos outfit.

"We will just keep working on our front-half game, what we want to do, how we want to control it. We need to come out better in that first quarter and finish off stronger," he said.