Cameron Guthrie says a role change was a key reason for his outstanding performance against Richmond at Simonds Stadium on Saturday.

Having played a lot up forward in recent weeks, Guthrie moved back into the midfield to help cover the absence of Joel Selwood and Mitch Duncan.

He won his own ball, finishing with 25 disposals, six tackles and a goal, but also kept Tigers superstar Dustin Martin to just 21 disposals.

"I played a bit of a different role on the weekend, which helped me get into the game," Guthrie told RSN radio on Tuesday morning.

"I was a bit more inside onball, so I was around the footy a bit more, which probably helps."

Guthrie enjoyed the battle with Martin.

"Tagging's probably a role that I'm pretty familiar with," Guthrie said. "I've done it a little bit in the past and been pretty effective at it.

"I probably haven't done it too much this year, but [assistant coach] Corey Enright flagged it early in the week with me and Scotty confirmed I'd be getting the role.

"I followed [Martin] everywhere in the midfield this week and let the defenders do their part when he went forward.

"He's a quality player and I definitely did my research to make sure I could quell him as best I could."