Jack Graham (left) celebrates with Dustin Martin after last year's grand final. Credit:Wayne Ludbey

Then on Saturday he became one of the 17 2017 premiership players to be awarded life membership at Richmond after the club recently changed its constitution to mean all premiership players automatically receive the honour. Five of the premiership team were already life members, having met other criteria.

As well as his three grand final majors, Graham did an outstanding job on Sloane, who had 15 disposals and two goals to half-time, keeping the Crow to just six second-half disposals. Speaking the day after that game, Graham spoke of the "surreal" experience."I definitely did look up to him. In your draft year you have to look up to someone, and that's who I picked: Rory," Graham said.

"[It was] pretty surreal to come up next to him in the middle on grand final day. When Dimma [coach Damien Hardwick] first told me that I was going to have to go to him I was thinking, 'Oh hell, what's going to happen here?' [I was] just playing my role for the team. Just get it done. I didn't want to bash him or anything but just push him under a little bit and annoy him. But I respect Rory a lot. Model my game on him. Whatever Dimma told me I had to do."

The bulk of the most impressive first-year players from 2017 have already re-signed with their clubs. The No 1 pick of 2016, Essendon's Andrew McGrath, signed a contract extension over the off-season, as did the No 3 pick, Brisbane Lion Hugh McCluggage. That deal was particularly significant, given the Lions' issues in recent years with player retention – the most recent example being Josh Schache's move to the Western Bulldogs, only two years after being taken at No 2 in the draft.