The second of Sunday’s AFL Round 8 matches is between Richmond Tigers and Melbourne Demons. The game is set to commence at 3:20pm local time with the game to be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Home team Richmond Tigers go into the match as the favourites in the market. View our preview and teams for the game between  Richmond Tigers and Melbourne Demons.

Round: Round 8 3:20 PM May 19, 2013
Stadium: MCG
Weather: 16° Possible morning shower.

Odds Comparison by AFL Odds:

Richmond Tigers	1.01	1.02	1.01	1.02	1.01	1.02
Melbourne Demons	15.00	14.00	21.00	14.00	15.00	15.00

Preview:

After a narrow loss to Fremantle and a big loss to Geelong in rounds six and seven, Richmond got back on track last week with an impressive victory over Port in Adelaide (114-73).

That win kept the Tigers inside the eight with a 4-3 winning record this year.
That record should be – will be – improved this week as they take on the hapless Melbourne Demons.
Things hit a new low for the Dees last week when, against the Gold Coast Suns, they were handed a 10 goal defeat. There’s nothing to say about the Dees. After a win against the equally poor GWS in round 4, their three subsequent losses have progressively gotten worse.

Tigers to give the 70.5 points start a nudge.

Teams:

Richmond Tigers:
B: Steven Morris, Alex Rance, Troy Chaplin
HB: Chris Newman, Brandon Ellis, Bachar Houli
C: Shaun Grigg, Trent Cotchin, Dan Jackson
HF: Brett Deledio, Shane Edwards, Jake King
F: Luke McGuane, Jack Riewoldt, Dustin Martin
Foll: Orren Stephenson, Nathan Foley, Nick Vlastuin
Int: Robin Nahas, Jake Batchelor, Matthew Arnot, Matt Dea, Aaron Edwards, Ty Vickery, Matt White

In: A. Edwards, White, Cotchin, Vickery, Arnot, Dea
Out: Tuck, Knights, Maric

Melbourne Demons:
B: Neville Jetta, James Frawley, Dean Terlich
HB: Daniel Nicholson, James Sellar, Colin Garland
C: Jack Trengove, Jordie McKenzie, Michael Evans
HF: Luke Tapscott, Lynden Dunn, Jeremy Howe
F: Max Gawn, Chris Dawes, Jimmy Toumpas
FOLL: Mark Jamar, Matt Jones, Nathan Jones
I/C (from): James Strauss, James Magner, Dean Kent, Aaron Davey, Troy Davis, Jake Spencer, Rohan Bail

In: Jamar, Magner, Trengove, Jetta, Davis, Toumpas
Out: Byrnes, Sylvia, Viney

Tigers ready for fired-up Demons

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick believes the barrage of criticism that has hit hapless Melbourne can spur the Demons to a big performance in their AFL clash at the MCG on Sunday.

Melbourne were thrashed by 60 points by Gold Coast last round, with pressure continuing to mount on their coach Mark Neeld after just one win for the season.

But Hardwick says the Demons are capable of much more than their lowly ladder status suggests, insisting the Tigers will be treating with them with respect.

“They’re a side that’s probably copped a fair bit of criticism so we’re under no illusions, we’re going to be up for a hell of a contest,” Hardwick said.

“They’re a better side than what they’re playing.

“I’ve got no doubt about that so we’ve got to be aware than any side on their day can beat any other so our side has to come to play.”

He said that Tigers insiders had been watching the Demons train and they’d had a focus on one-on-one tackling – an area where they were woeful against the Suns.

Hardwick said captain Trent Cotchin was a certainty to play on Sunday after overcoming a knee injury while ruck-forward Tyrone Vickery has also been cleared after missing a week with concussion.

“Trent’s a tough individual,” he said.

“He had his rest last week and he’s well and truly ready to go this week.”

Richmond had an impressive 41-point win over Port Adelaide last week and are heavy favourites to thrash the Demons.

Hardwick said the margin wasn’t important.

“It’s just about winning, first and foremost.

“The competition is pretty close because there’s probably 12 or 13 sides vying for those top eight positions so any win where you can get a boost in percentage is a great result.

“But we don’t go into games thinking, let’s win by 100 points.

“We just want to get the four points and play to the best of our ability.”