THE first game of former Crow Aidan Riley has earned praise from coach Paul Roos, following Melbourne’s impressive 17-point win over Richmond at the MCG on Saturday.

Although Riley was subbed out in the third quarter for starting substitute Jay Kennedy-Harris, Roos said Riley, who was playing his 13^th AFL game, made a good contribution, which included a goal.

“He gave us what we thought – some hardness and toughness around the footy – and we knew he’d run out of some steam,” he said.

“It was a bit of a gamble with JKH on the bench [as starting substitute], but [Riley] added the hardness of what we thought would be a tough game.

“Riley played well when he was on and Jay come on and did really well. Riley’s a hard, tough good footballer and we need plenty of that.”

Roos also praised several of his players post-match, including Nathan Jones’ effort on opposing skipper Trent Cotchin. It continued Jones’ recent roles on Carlton captain Marc Murphy and Gold Coast Suns superstar Gary Ablett.

“It was a great battle – Cotchin verses Jones, [who are] two really good players,” he said.

“He’s embracing [his different role], so to play on Cotchin, who’s a really good player – [Jones] was terrific.” 

Roos was also pleased for fellow co-captain Jack Grimes and experienced Demons Lynden Dunn and Colin Garland to play in a memorable win.

He added that Jack Watts was “exceptional” up forward and another key in attack, Chris Dawes continuing competitive “fight”. 

Roos said the ruck combination of Mark Jamar and Max Gawn “stretched” the opposition, which allowed versatile tall Cam Pedersen to play a “terrific” game.

High-flying Jeremy Howe also earned strong praise from Roos, who said the Tasmanian was “very, very good” down back.