Richmond’s Bachar Houli injured his calf in the opening minutes of the grand final win, but bravely battled on after a plea from coach Damien Hardwick.

Houli said he felt his calf pop just minutes after teammate Nick Vlastuin was knocked unconscious in the first term and thought his night was “done”.

But given the Tigers were already a man down as Vlastuin was ruled out of a return, Houli says it was a special message from Hardwick that saw him push through the pain.

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“I actually did my calf about two minutes after Nick Vlastuin got knocked out,” he said on Triple M.

“I thought I was done, but the great man Dimma said ‘I need you, I need you to battle on’.

“I’m so proud to see the boys put in that effort.”

Houli finished the match with 11 disposals and is now a three-time premiership winner.

The defender, who was a late entry into the Tigers Queensland hub after staying in Melbourne for the birth of his child, said he just wanted to give his all.

“(My calf) was a little bit tight (pre-game) but I didn’t think much of it because I’d been in that same situation two times in the last probably six weeks,” he said.

“I sprinted across the ground and it popped. I thought that was done. I just knew there was no next week and I wanted to give it all.”

It’s been a tough 2020 for Houli who, after remaining in Melbourne, found out his mother had contracted COVID-19 and was in intensive care.

But due to Melbourne’s strict lockdown, Houli was unable to see his mother in hospital.

It took his father’s blessing for Houli and his family to head north to rejoin the Tigers in Queensland.

“I’m so proud, the amount of sacrifices our family has made - all players and their families have just been extraordinary,” he said.