If Richmond wants to get the ball rolling in season 2011 with a first-up win, they’ll want to have Ben Griffiths on the park.

The 198cm forward played five games in his debut season last year, and the Tigers won every one of them.

Everything was going to plan early in the Griffiths career, making his debut against Port Adelaide in Round 10 after being selected with pick 19 in the 2009 National Draft.

But against Fremantle in Round 15, the 19-year-old landed awkwardly on his right shoulder, and four days later he was in hospital having a shoulder reconstruction.

“It felt like I was just starting to get used to the standard of AFL, and when I did the injury it was pretty disappointing,” Griffiths said.

“Dimma was really good in reinforcing that I’ve still got plenty of time, and it could be a blessing in disguise that I’m recovering now, rather than doing an injury in the pre season.

“I’ve been lucky enough to get five games under my belt, and that’s probably put me in better shape for this year.

“Hopefully I can play more games and improve on what I did last year.”

Griffiths spent the final weeks of the 2010 season, and the first portion of the current pre season, in the rehab group, working back the strength he lost from having surgery.

“It was slow initially, because it was a significant operation,” he said.

“It was pretty hard early on, because I couldn’t really move my arm for a while, and it probably took about eight weeks to get full motion back, but since then it’s been a lot quicker.

“It’s just really frustrating.  You sit at home, and you can’t really sleep properly.

“Matt Hornsby (Elite Performance Manager) and Terry Condon (Rehab coach) have been really good in mapping out my program, and Kim Stephens (psychologist) has been really good to talk to.”

Last week, Griffiths joined his team-mates for his first competitive hitout on the training track, with a Round 1 return firmly in his sights.