Richmond turned to star defender Nick Vlastuin for some midfield grunt in yesterday’s clash with Hawthorn at the MCG, and he responded superbly.

The continued absence of inspirational captain Trent Cotchin (hamstring), and the recent loss of promising, young, big-bodied midfielder Jack Ross (syndesmosis injury), created a vacancy in the team’s ‘engine-room’.

Vlastuin, who returned to the Tigers’ line-up after missing the Round 8 win against Fremantle, stepped up to play a key role as a midfielder in the decisive 36-point victory over the Hawks.

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He finished the match with 24 disposals, including four clearances, four inside-50s, four marks, a game-high nine tackles and a goal.

Coach Damien Hardwick acknowledged Vlastuin’s capacity to adapt so well to his move into the midfield.

“He’s probably more of a defensive-minded ‘mid’ . . . plays it as a defender, like a traditional centreman I would probably call it,” Hardwick said.

“He’s very balanced and very poised with the ball.

“We like his decision-making, we also like his ability to compete in one-on-one contests.”

As well as Vlastuin performed in the midfield yesterday, Hardwick isn’t sure at this stage if he will become a more permanent fixture there.

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“We’ve probably tried it over the years (moving him into the midfield) with varying degrees of success,” Hardwick said.

“It worked for us this week. Do we look to go forward with it? We’ll assess the tape and see what we make of it.”