DYLAN Grimes' decision to buy his own house and move away from older brother Jack was timed perfectly, yet by complete accident.

The young Richmond defender and the Melbourne co-captain had been rooming together after moving out from the family home, but Grimes the younger went his own way just in time for the clash between the two teams on Saturday.

As it happened, Jack trudged off a stern-faced leader of a team that had just lost its third consecutive game of the season, while Dylan put in a performance that earned him the round three nomination for the NAB AFL Rising Star award and helped the Tigers to their first win of the season.

The younger of the two brothers admits it would have made for an awkward living situation, especially since Jack seemed to ignore him after the game.

"We walked past each other at the end of the game and I tried to catch his eye. He's pretty serious Jack, he didn't give too much away," Dylan Grimes told AFL.com.au.

In fairness to Jack Grimes, he had suffered a heavy knock in the last quarter that left him concussed and may not have been fully aware.

Dylan and Jack had played junior football together and even one game of TAC Cup at the Northern Knights but Saturday was the first time the two had taken to the field as opponents.

But that didn't stop Dylan from fretting when he saw his older brother go down in a contest with Daniel Jackson.
 
"My heart sank when I saw him not get up off the ground, I didn't realise it was as serious as what it was at first. You don't like seeing that happen to any player but when it happens to your brother it is definitely a nerve-wracking experience," he said.

"I was pretty happy to see him get off the ground, even though he was a bit wobbly it was a relief he was up and on his feet."

While at different clubs, the Grimes brothers have shared plenty throughout their football careers, mainly long-term injuries. Jack has battled foot and back problems while Dylan missed a large chunk of last year with a severe hamstring injury.

The unfortunate coincidence that saw both on the long-term injury list at the same time last year had some benefit though as they completed their rehab together while on a mid-season trip to Port Douglas.

Dylan Grimes said the trip was invaluable, as much for getting away from the routine of being an injured player at an AFL club as picking the brains of his older brother and close friend.

"Not many people understand the emotions you go through when you're on the long-term injury list," Dylan Grimes said.

"He was there for me to talk to and get advice from. He'd had long-term injuries before and it was a real help for me to have someone like Jack there. He's a good leader as well, so that was crucial for my own recovery."

The stint on the sidelines is just a distant memory now as Dylan Grimes looks set for a big season as a key part of Richmond's defence.

Grimes has benefited from a pre-season in which he did a lot of one-on-one work with fellow key defender Alex Rance and defensive coach Justin Leppitsch.

He's also benefiting from their encouragement to attack more.

Grimes was primarily a negating backman during his seven games at the start of last season. He averaged 11 spoils a game, which was second only to Brisbane Lion Daniel Merrett, who averaged slightly more than 11.

Merrett and Grimes are the only defenders to have averaged more than 10 spoils a game since Champion Data began taking statistics in 1999. Renowned spoiler Josh Gibson last year averaged nine spoils a game.

This year, Grimes has lifted his average disposals from 12 to 16. In the past two games, in the loss against Collingwood and the victory over Melbourne, he had 20 and 18 disposals respectively.

Almost every one of those disposals reached a teammate. His kicking efficiency over those two games was 90 per cent.

Perhaps the greatest sign of Grimes' evolution into a more attacking player can be seen in the number of marks he's taken in the past two games.

He's taken 21. Of those, only two were intercepts.

The remaining 19 were taken as a link-up player. He's become a vital player in bringing the ball out of the Tigers' defence.

"Rance and 'Leppa' have been really encouraging me to take more risks with the ball and go through the corridor a bit more," Grimes said.

When asked to name a player he had modelled his game on, Grimes stayed close to home by nominating Rance.

"He's one of the most underrated players in the AFL," he said.

"The way he attacks the ball and goes for every contest is just second to none.

"His ability at one-on-one contests is just outstanding."

You can see that Grimes is a born defender by his nominaton of former Carlton full-back Steve Silvagni as the player he most admired when he was growing up.

"I just like the way there was no carry-on about the way he played footy," Grimes said of Silvagni.

"He was courageous, hard at it, and I'll never forget the grand final [in 1995] when he went back with the flight of the ball and got knocked out.

"It always sticks in my head."

Luke Holmesby is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter - @AFL_Luke