TYRONE Vickery isn't harbouring hard feelings after missing out on Richmond's elimination final and has set his sights on playing every game in 2015.
The 24-year-old's season effectively ended after his four-match suspension, handed down for his controversial strike on West Coast's Dean Cox in round 18.
He wasn't recalled for the Tigers' round 23 clash with the Sydney Swans and missed their 57-point loss to Port Adelaide, after coach Damien Hardwick elected to stick with Ben Griffiths.
Vickery said his relationship with Hardwick remained strong and he was determined to put this season, when he missed six games through suspension, behind him.
"We've always had a really good relationship," Vickery told AFL.com.au at the AFLPA most valuable player award on Tuesday night.
"I've missed a lot of football this year through suspension and I want to get back and get fit and give myself the every opportunity to play every game next year."
Griffiths held his spot after coming in for Vickery in round 19 and kicked six goals, took 33 marks and supported Ivan Maric in the ruck across the remaining six games.
Vickery said he felt no animosity towards Griffiths for effectively taking his spot and appearing in Sunday's final instead of him.
After signing a two-year contract extension earlier this year, he said remained committed to seeing how the Tigers assembled their attacking structure this pre-season.
"Ben had put together four good weeks of football while I was away and he deserved to be playing," Vickery said.
"It's certainly not his fault, and I'm not sure what the structure will be going forward for the club and the forward line but we'll see what happens."
Vickery thought he was a chance to return against the Swans after being named as an emergency.
But he was told the night before he wouldn't play, which he said was tough to hear.
"It's always hard. It was touch and go whether I played or not," he said.
"It was hard and disappointing but that was the way [Hardwick] felt and the match committee felt, that it was our best chance to beat Sydney."
Vickery didn't travel to Adelaide for the clash with the Power and remained in Melbourne to train with the other Tigers who weren't in the squad.
He said it was tough to watch the match unfold the way it did with the Power kicking the first seven goals of the game.
But he always knew it was going to be hard to prove he belonged in the side given the Tigers' VFL team didn't make the finals and he had nowhere to gain match fitness after his suspension ended.
"I suppose it was hard because you want to be playing, but at the end of the day I hadn't played for four weeks and the VFL weren't playing at that time as well," he said.
"It's always tough to be on the sidelines and to see the boys do so well - to get there and then not be able to put it together on the day was really hard.
"There was not much I could really do and the coaches were right in their decision."
Vickery credited the players for helping him get through the Cox incident, which was heavily scrutinised in the media.
Hardwick said in the weeks afterwards that Vickery had been so traumatised by what he had done, he needed to be consoled in the rooms at half-time.
"I was pretty well supported by my teammates and I just made some clear goals about what I wanted to achieve fitness wise and just worked hard," Vickery said.
"I tried to put it behind me as soon as I could."
As for the Tigers' response to their second-straight exit in the first week of finals, Vickery says they would set about rectifying their deficiencies as soon as the pre-season started.
"It's like last year – we lost an elimination final and it really hurts and it just gives you that kick straight away," he said.
"We'll go and have a break now and then we'll come back and address the issues we need to."
