Richmond have decided that if you can’t beat them join them and will trial a dual ruck attack in their AFL clash with Hawthorn at the MCG.
With regular forward ruck Ty Vickery sidelined after a head blow, Orren Stephenson will play alongside ruckman Ivan Maric for the second time this season on Saturday.
Tall forward Luke McGuane will also come back into the side for the first time since round nine.
Leading clubs Geelong, Sydney and Hawthorn all play two genuine ruckmen and Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said it was something his team needed to test ahead of the looming finals.
“It’s something we’ve certainly got to look at bringing into our game,” Hardwick said on Friday.
“Ty will come back and a young kid called (Liam) McBean who will put his hand up at some stage.
“We’ve certainly got some players over 200cm that we can put through there.”
Hardwick said that Stephenson was a better tap ruckman than Maric, who provided “better grunt”.
“If we manage to get pretty even ruck time and a couple of goals out of each that would be a win for us.”
Hardwick said Vickery, who suffered concussion in the 47-point loss to Sydney on Sunday, wasn’t considered because of the six-day turnaround but was likely available next week to face Brisbane.
Last season Richmond shocked the high-flying Hawks in round nine, storming to a 62-point win.
Hardwick said there was a gap between his side and the top four teams, but only when the Tigers didn’t play to their capabilities.
“We know we’re capable of beating Hawthorn but we need to play our absolute best to get that done.
“The thing we have to do is reach that consistency level over a four quarter period and that’s something we haven’t done to the level we would have liked this year.”
He said they had a few things in store for the Hawks, who last round humbled Essendon.
“They’re a quality side and if we go about it on the status quo then they’re probably going to beat us on ability,” Hardwick said.
“We’ll do a few things and try and manipulate their structures as best we can.
“In saying that they’ll be doing exactly the same to us. It’s going to be a really good test.”