RICHMOND has backed Ty Vickery and Shaun Hampson to respond from their disappointing ends to the 2014 season and keep the competition between the club's big men hot next year.
 
Vickery's season effectively ended in round 18 the moment he struck West Coast ruckman Dean Cox and earned himself a four-week suspension.
 
He was emergency for the senior side in round 23 but the Tigers stuck with fellow big man Ben Griffiths to partner ruckman Ivan Maric for the elimination final against Port Adelaide.
 
The Tigers believe the fact Vickery was overlooked for the 57-point loss to the Power will give him extra motivation over the pre-season to put himself in the frame early next year.
 
"No player likes missing out on selection but that's good – the challenge is in front of him to become a really important player for us but also a solid, key forward across the comp," football manager Dan Richardson told AFL.com.au.
 
"He's certainly got the ability to do that.
 
"We thought Ty prior to being suspended, the form he was starting to show was probably at the level we now expect from him to come back with and demonstrate for a whole year.
 
"I think he's really determined to do that, which is good."
 
Richardson said there was no consideration from the Tigers' end about Vickery moving on during the recent NAB AFL Trade Period.
 
 
The 24-year-old, who is contracted until the end of 2016, could play alongside the other two big men in the same side as the Tigers keep looking for their best mix.
 
"Ty was disappointed he missed out on selection in the last bit of the season but that's a sign hopefully we're getting stronger as a footy club," Richardson said.
 
"We still think that Ben and Ty and Ivan can play in the same team together.
 
"Whilst we didn't go with that towards the end, there's no reason why that can't be the case."
 
As for Hampson, the former Blue played 11 games in his first season as a Tiger but finished the season in the VFL as Vickery and Griffiths were the preferred options.
 
His VFL form remained strong and he had no trouble getting his hands on the ball in rucking duels but struggled at times around the ground.
 
Richardson said the Tigers were confident that Hampson would benefit from working with development coach Mark Williams over the summer in a bid to improve his deficiencies.
 
"Despite a lot of people being critical of him, we got him to the club for that taller ruckman to make sure we could get the ball going our way and he did well with that element early in the year," he said.
 
"He had some reasonably good days in the ruck.
 
"His work around the ground and his goal-kicking and marking needs to improve, and we back him in at 26 [years old] with our development program under 'Choco' that will keep developing those players and help them improve.
 
"We'll keep working with Shaun and help him become a better player."