Despite falling short to Adelaide by just nine points, Richmond fought until the final siren on the road.

And for defender Nick Vlastuin, he believes it was a performance his team can be proud of and take plenty of lessons from moving forward.

“Coming away as a group, you always galvanise, and you just get to spend so much time together,” Vlastuin told Richmond Media.

“Hopefully, they (Richmond’s younger players) enjoyed it, playing in front of a pretty hostile crowd. They were minor premiers last year, so hopefully they take a lot of confidence out of it.

“We did play pretty well. We only went down by nine points, so it's just about building that now though, do it every week, not just a one off.”

In a game that was interrupted by heavy rainfall, Vlastuin was proud of the way his backline adapted to the conditions, limiting Adelaide’s chances to score with pressure and winning contested possessions.

Most notably, in just his ninth AFL game, mid-season recruit Kye Annand held veteran forward Taylor Walker to just three marks, while collecting eight of his own, along with seven intercept possessions.

“I thought Kye was awesome. He had a lot of good moments on Tex, and I don't know how many games Tex has played - probably 350 and Kye's in his ninth, so it was pretty impressive from Kye,” Vlastuin said.

“Big Funky (Ben Miller) as well, we were a bit short down there at some points, but those two boys really stood up, and it helped with a lot of pressure up the field too.

“If they get good supply, it's going to be impossible for anyone to stop, and the mids did a very good job as well.”

Another positive Vlastuin drew upon was the return of Judson Clarke. After 867 days, Clarke played his first AFL game back after two ACL surgeries, making an immediate impact at the level, amassing 13 disposals, three total clearances and 254 meters gained.

“It's pretty cool, 860-something days, and like two days after he did his ACL he was in the Club smiling, just up and about,” Vlastuin said.

“He's just that type of person. He's been bubbly the whole way through. It's never for him. He just wants to get better, and it's awesome to see him out there.

“He was pretty clean with the ball too. It looked like he hadn't missed much, so he's only going to get better, and he's an exciting talent, so hopefully he can stay fit and continue on from that.”

Richmond will now turn its focus to St Kilda at the MCG this Saturday, where the Club will celebrate the career of three-time premiership Tiger Nathan Broad in his final game.