BRANDON Ellis says Richmond is a stronger team with defender Nathan Broad in it and wants his housemate to return to the side this week now his club suspension is over.
Broad was suspended for the opening three rounds of the season after using a messaging app to circulate a topless photo of a woman without her consent after last year's Grand Final win.
The 24-year-old had told the woman, who was wearing his premiership medal in the photo, that he'd deleted the image.
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It was the incident that marred the jubilant celebrations of the Tigers' premiership win over Adelaide, with a long investigation ending with a chastened Broad publicly apologising to the traumatised woman and accepting his sanction on October 30.
Even though his suspension officially ended on the weekend, Broad hasn't been guaranteed an automatic call up to the side for Saturday's clash with Brisbane at the MCG.
Ellis, who shares a house with Broad, believes he should come straight back in now that he's served his sentence.
"I want him to play. I love playing with him and I think we're a stronger team with him in it," Ellis told AFL.com.au.
"He's in good form at the moment, he's as fit as anything, and he fits into our backline really well.
"But we had a good win on the weekend so it's a selection headache for the coaches, which is a good problem to have."
Broad last played for the Tigers on Grand Final day, where he was solid against Adelaide forward Tom Lynch.
He has since taken part in one JLT Community Series game and ran out in the VFL last Saturday where he showed decent form without blowing the game apart.
Ellis said Broad would bring "another dimension" to the team if he was recalled and allow their other defenders to take on other responsibilities.
"He can play on a tall player if we need him to, he can play on a smaller player if we need him to," Ellis said.
"It frees up me and Bachar [Houli] to play up high and also 'Shorty' [Jayden Short], and 'Tigger' [Nick Vlastuin] is sort of the same, it allows him to play even better
"So, I think 'Broady' coming into the team will be fantastic for us and make us even stronger."
Short was in good form against the Hawks last week while Reece Conca was solid after moving into the midfield after half-time, which will further complicate discussions at this week's match committee.
After Sunday's win, coach Damien Hardwick forecast the selection squeeze that could make it hard for Broad to make an immediate return.
"He's an elite runner, we love what he brings to our side and he's an important player to us," Hardwick said.
"We're pretty lucky; Broad's available, [Josh] Caddy's available … and Dion [Prestia] is a wait and see but my thoughts are at this stage he'll be available.
"We've got some good players that are going to make selection tough, but we're pleased with the way the guys are playing at the moment.
"We've got some good players who are not playing AFL at the moment."
Caddy is expected to return after serving a one-game AFL suspension, while Prestia will have to prove his fitness on Thursday at training after missing last week's match with a sore glute.
Given Prestia's lack of a pre-season, he is likely to miss one more and hit the track hard over the 10 days following the clash with the Lions to be fit for the Tigers' Anzac Eve blockbuster against Melbourne.
