RICHMOND has acted swiftly to re-sign key forward Ben Griffiths after news this week that teammate Ty Vickery was preparing to leave the club as a restricted free agent.
Griffiths has signed for a further two years through to the end of 2018, when he will become eligible for free agency himself.
Vickery, who is out of contract and a restricted free agent, is reportedly considering an offer to join Hawthorn on a multi-year deal.
With tall forward Liam McBean delisted this week and Todd Elton adding just two games to his name in 2016, the Tigers could not afford to also have Griffiths out of contract going into the NAB AFL Trade Period.
"Ben has all the attributes of a powerful key forward, and we've seen how valuable he can be in some of his performances this season," Richmond football manager Dan Richardson said.
"We're looking forward to Ben taking his game to another level next season and beyond.
Griffiths was recruited with pick No.19 in the 2009 NAB AFL Draft and has played 61 games in seven seasons.
He kicked a career-high five goals against the Sydney Swans in a breakout performance in round eight this season and finished the season with 14 goals.
The Tigers have re-signed Shaun Hampson, Sam Lloyd, Oleg Markov, David Astbury, Shaun Grigg and Bachar Houli in recent weeks.
However, they will be helping round one draft picks Ben Lennon and Reece Conca find new homes after both requested trades.
McBean and rookie Adam Marcon were delisted this week.