Saturday afternoon's match between Richmond and Port Adelaide offered little for neutrals.
Two sides widely expected to finish in the bottom four faced off, with the higher-drawing Richmond side missing almost half of its first choice side due to injury.
A backwards miskick by Tom Brown with seconds remaining in the third term which would have gifted Port Adelaide a shot at goal if the siren did not intervene was symbolic of a match marred by poor skill execution.
But in an otherwise forgettable match, there were two shining lights for the Tigers: Liam Fawcett and Sam Grlj.
Brought in for his first game of the season and playing just his second at the level, Fawcett proved himself to be a pack-crashing marking presence, finishing with two goals and five shots.
Already, Richmond's trio of 2024 key forward picks, Harry Armstrong (11 games), Jonty Faull (19 games) and Tom Sims (11 games) have been given more exposure, but Fawcett showed he could be an important part of the club's future.
The 197cm forward is into his third season, but missed most of 2024 due to a back injury and glandular fever, before he was consistently an aerial threat in his 12 VFL games last year.

“'Fawey' was terrific in his second game,” Richmond coach Adem Yze said during his post-game press conference.
“He didn't look out of place, which was great.”
With Tom Lynch missing, Mykelti Lefau was Richmond's most experienced key forward and touched the footy just once, highlighting the important role Fawcett played in keeping the Tigers in the contest until three-quarter-time.
From 50 inside 50 entries, four more than Port Adelaide, Richmond managed just six goals, dominating most of the third quarter for just one goal as poor connection and inaccuracy hurt the Tigers.
Grlj, meanwhile, could be a beneficiary of injuries to Richmond's emerging midfielders.
With Sam Cumming, Taj Hotton and Josh Smillie all sidelined, he was given four centre ball-up attendances in just his fourth game, winning a centre clearance and impacting forward of the footy.
He finished with 19 disposals and four inside 50s, running out the game well in the fourth quarter and running hard defensively, which denied Jason Horne-Francis a shot on goal in the third term.
"He's come in with a positive attitude and wants to be better himself. He wants to get his team to be better,” Jayden Short told Richmond Media of Grlj post-game.
“I really appreciate having Grlj on my team."






















