AFL’s Tigers need to be like NBA’s LeBron

“What would LeBron James do here?”

The next time Richmond players find themselves in a pressure-packed situation with the game on the line they’ll do well to ask themselves that very question.

Coach Damien Hardwick revealed that the Tigers looked at some of the visualisation techniques used by the Cleveland Cavaliers megastar during pre-season training.

Clearly, they didn’t call on those lessons when they let a late 17-point lead slip against Collingwood last week.

“We showed some vision … of how LeBron, one of the greatest players to ever play the game, how he went about re-setting his goals when he came to the bench,” Hardwick told reporters.

“It’s something our players have been dabbling with over the course of the summer.

“I think probably the one side that most clubs have tried to tap into a little bit more is … the mental side of the game.

“(It’s) the area where I think we’re probably just starting to scratch the surface in.”

Hardwick admitted his side had made some “cataclysmic” mistakes late in the loss to the Pies but added they had been addressed, with the coach keen to move on.

The Tigers will host Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on Saturday as they look to improve on their 1-1 win-loss record.

They regained star forward Shane Edwards, who has recovered from hand surgery, for the clash along with Troy Chaplin, Daniel Rioli and Ben Lennon.

Dylan Grimes is out with a hamstring injury, while Taylor Hunt, Jacob Townsend and Ben Griffiths were all dropped.

Adelaide went with the same lineup that thumped cross-town rivals Port Adelaide last week.

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