'I was pretty happy': Griffith ruck shines in VFL debut for Giants

Richards has been in sensational form for the Swans this season and he felt he replicated his efforts in the clash against the Hawks.

"I was pretty happy," Richards said.

"Coming from the RFL and going to play in the VFL, I wasn't really too sure of how I was going to go.

"But I got my hands on it a little bit and I was definitely competitive."

The ruckman is a former member of the GWS Giants Academy and he is clearly still on their radar after Richards said they reached out to him following injuries to ruck duo Nick Madden and Braydon Preuss.

"I was just at work a couple of weeks ago and I got a phone call from one of the coaches at the Giants," he said.

"He got onto me and we had a chat where he asked me if I'd be interested in playing a few games in the VFL this year as a couple of their ruckman have gone down injured and they are really low on ruck stocks.

"My name must've come up and they gave me the opportunity to go down there and play against Box Hill."

Richards wasn't the only one with ties to the Swans who was running around in orange on Sunday as he was able to reunite with GWS pair Harry Rowston and Taine Moraschi.

He said it was good to catch-up with the duo and he revealed he enjoyed the opportunity to play with Rowston for the first time.

"It was really good actually," he said.

"I never got to play with Harry so that was going to be really good and I was looking forward to that.

"Then with Taine not being in town this year it was really good to catch up with those guys and play with them on the weekend.

"It was really good having three Griffith boys running around in the VFL for the Giants, it's not something I would've expected a few weeks ago.

"They both played really well and they should be proud of themselves."

Richards is coming off a fantastic pre-season and his hard work over the Summer months is having an impact on his footy this year.

He agreed it was nice to see the dividends after putting in the hard yards over the off-season.

"Yeah definitely," he said.

"The last few years I've been playing some reasonable footy, especially last year I thought I played pretty well.

"But I definitely knew that there was one big thing holding me back and that was my size.

"I was way too big and I knew if I got a bit leaner and can cover a bit more ground then I'd be able to impact the contest other just purely in the ruck.

"That's what I've really tried to do this year and so far I think I've played relatively well and hopefully as the season goes on I continue to get better and better."

There is no clear return date for Madden or Preuss and Richards revealed he might have to make a difficult decision on where he plays over the next couple of weeks.

"I think they are interested in having me around especially while their ruckman are still injured," he said.

"They were happy enough with how I played to give me another crack at it, I've just got to weigh my options up now.

"Being a local boy at Griffith, I really want us to play well.

"I want to make sure we are in a good spot here in the RFL as well as me playing at a higher level and getting opportunities like that that don't come around very often.

"It's a bit of a balancing act."