IT'S FRIDAY night at the MCG, a blockbuster clash between traditional rivals Richmond and Collingwood, and Josh Caddy takes to the field.

The Tiger finds himself alongside a fair-headed teammate at the end of the ground.

But instead of Jack Riewoldt, it's David Astbury. In defence.

It's a scenario that could play out in the must-win clash against Collingwood, after the out-of-favour forward was trialled in an unconventional hybrid wing/defence role on Sunday against Box Hill in the VFL.

It would be a gamble under Friday night lights in a battle of fourth (Magpies) and fifth (Tigers), but the 26-year-old is highly talented and is in his side's best 22 when in form.

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After missing the first three games of the year with an ankle injury, Caddy was a mainstay of the side until a minor leg issue sidelined him for the Tigers' round 16 victory over the Gold Coast.

Caddy, who kicked 46 goals last year, hasn’t been able to break his way back into the team since.

The return of Riewoldt from a PCL injury has been one reason, as well as Richmond's growing desire to play two rucks in Ivan Soldo and Mabior Chol. The club's preference for a spread of manic small forwards has also made things tough for the 186cm-tall Caddy.

Sydney Stack with the intercept and the unselfish assist!



Great effort from the young man.#AFLTigersPower pic.twitter.com/pitZG31KGu — AFL (@AFL) July 20, 2019

Coach Damien Hardwick floated the idea of a positional change for Caddy on Saturday after his side's comfortable 38-point win over Port Adelaide.

"(Caddy)'s important to the way we want to play. We're trialling something with Josh and the way we want him to play," Hardwick told reporters.

"We know he can play forward. We're trying to improve his flexibility of a role we want him to play. It's going to be an important role when he comes back into the side."

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Against the VFL Hawks on Sunday, Caddy rolled into the centre for the occasional bounce, usually at the start of quarters, but mostly took up a spot on the defensive side of the wing and then pushed behind the ball.

It was quite the change of pace for the offensively minded 150-gamer.

Instead of running hard towards goal, Caddy would set up a kick or two behind stoppages, and quite often found himself as a spare in the back 50.

There were even times Caddy would be on the last line of defence – although rarely directly marking a player – alongside Noah Balta and Ryan Garthwaite.

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With a five-day break between the VFL match and Richmond's AFL clash with Collingwood, Caddy sat out the final quarter, finishing with 18 disposals and six marks in the 14-point win.

It's not the only selection quandary facing the Tigers, after Toby Nankervis made his long-awaited return from a serious adductor injury.

The club's No.1 ruckman had missed nine weeks, and so played the first half of the VFL on managed minutes.

Nankervis and Richmond's ruck coach Ivan Maric at training earlier this month. Picture: AFL Photos



Coming up against a powerful duo in Jonathon Ceglar and Marc Pittonet, Nankervis had 13 hitouts, eight touches, three tackles and a goal.

He moved well, but it would be a big step up from one half in the VFL to a full match against All Australian Brodie Grundy.

After a surprise omission from the seniors, Kamdyn McIntosh did not play, with an eye to the tight turnaround between the VFL and AFL.

In the AFL win over Port Adelaide, the Tigers played Jack Graham and Kane Lambert on one wing in McIntosh's absence, with Brandon Ellis holding the opposite side.

Usual half-back flanker Oleg Markov has spent the past few weeks up forward in the VFL and finished with a four-goal haul.