Richmond’s No.1 ruckman Ivan Maric is all but confirmed for his long-awaited AFL comeback this weekend.

The only problem for the Tigers is whose spot he takes in the side for the Dreamtime At The ‘G blockbuster against Essendon.

But reigning club best and fairest winner Daniel Jackson was restricted to light duties at Thursday training, putting him in serious doubt for the game.

Jackson suffered an upper-leg injury in last weekend’s big win over Greater Western Sydney.

Maric has not played this season because of ankle surgery.

Coach Damien Hardwick said Maric had played about 160 minutes in the VFL and showed strong form last weekend.

Fellow big men Shaun Hampson, Ben Griffiths and Ty Vickery all showed strong form against the Giants, meaning One of them would be unlucky if Maric returned this weekend.

“He’s definitely put his hand up for selection,” Hardwick said before training.

“It’s going to be an interesting discussion at match committee this afternoon.

“We’re going to make sure we make the right decision and the best decision that helps us beat the Bombers.”

Hardwick added that regardless of Maric’s form, he would boost the team immediately.

“He’ll take a little bit of time to get the speed of the game – he hasn’t played in seven months or something like that.

“But he’s a quality player and, automatically, our players feel better about themselves having him on the field.

“We look forward to having him back if we go that way this afternoon.”

Maric and fellow key players Alex Rance and Brett Deledio were injured in the first few weeks of the season.

But Rance and Deledio are back and the Tigers have been eager for Maric’s return.

“The mark of a player is you make people around you better and that’s what Ivan does,” Hardwick said.

“He instils belief in players and we’ve missed that … in the early parts of the year.

“We look forward to bringing that back in.”

Hardwick was upbeat before training about Jackson, but the onballer did very little work on the track.

“He’s come on better than we thought.

“His recovery has been great (and) that’s one thing with Jacko you can never doubt – doing everything and his utmost to get his body out on the track.”