The half-forward played on boom Port Fairy recruit Shane Savage on Saturday, kicking three goals in the Tigers' win at Gardens Oval.

"Whoever was going to line up on him, we were going to make sure he couldn't get any easy ball and create off that back line because he's obviously a pretty damaging player," Richardson told The Standard.

"I just played my role and made sure he didn't get the ball, hopefully."

Richardson, who played in a reserves premiership for Portland before time in Queensland and at South West District league club Westerns, said he took lessons from how Savage positioned himself around the contest.

"A couple of times he led me to the ball," he said.

"He just knew where to be so I just sat shoulder-to-shoulder with him and went 'OK, this is why they sit at the back of the pack'."

Richardson said having the former Hawthorn and St Kilda footballer in the Hampden league was a positive for the competition.

"He's very good and he was a nice guy to talk to too," he said of Savage.

"It was a really good experience for myself and all the others boys were excited just to play against someone the calibre of player he is. To get the win against him was even better."

Richardson returned to Portland for the 2020 season before it was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He joked he'd put in "two pre-seasons for two games" so far. "I am 29 now so it's my last sort of chance at playing the highest level I can; I thought I'd give it one last crack," Richardson said.

"It's a lot cleaner football and you work hard and get rewarded a lot more than the lower levels give you.

"I believed I was up to the level to play Hampden, it was just you've got to commit a lot more to football than what you do in the district leagues."

Portland has started the season with a mixed bag - a heavy 91-point loss to reigning premier Koroit in round one was followed by an uplifting 33-point away win over Port Fairy in round two.

The Tigers host Hamilton Kangaroos in their traditional Anzac Day match at Hanlon Park on Sunday.

Richardson hopes he can add to his five-goal tally but he is also content doing a task for coach Jarrod Holt.

"I daresay if there's any jobs that need to be done or players that need to be locked down 'Holty' will call on me as I am fairly fit," he said.

Portland is yet to play senior finals since joining the league in 2013.

Richardson said ebbs and flows in consistency, due to having a young side, would be the Tigers' biggest challenge.

"We believe we're good enough to play finals this year," he said.

"It is exciting with the amount of young, talented players we've got - Tex Mitchell is a great young player, Jackson Dunlop down there in the forward line and Sam Hampshire."

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