Richmond midfielder Brandon Ellis is expecting plenty of niggle when the Tigers take on Port Adelaide in a must-win AFL game for both sides.

Richmond and the Power are in a group of five teams sitting two games outside the eight with 6-7 win-loss records.

The winner of Friday night’s clash at Adelaide Oval will keep their faint finals hopes alive, while the loser will fall behind the chasing pack in the run to September.

The high-stakes contest promises to be another chapter in a growing rivalry between the clubs.

“What they did to us in the final … we didn’t really like that,” Ellis said, referring to his side’s humbling elimination-final loss to Port in 2014 at the same venue.

“And we’ve got a lot of coaches at Richmond who played for Port Adelaide … there’s a lot of history between the two clubs. It’s going to be a good contest.

“There’s been a bit of niggle every time we’ve played them, but that’s footy.”

Ruckman Shaun Hampson is battling to overcome a knee injury to take his place in the side.

His chances of playing received a boost when he trained on Tuesday, with Ellis confident the athletic big man would make the trip.

Jake Batchelor (hamstring tightness) and Ben Griffiths (illness) were late withdrawals from the team who defeated Brisbane last weekend and would also be in selection calculations.

Veteran ruckman Ivan Maric, who has managed just two games this season, was held out of the VFL last weekend as cover for Hampson if he wasn’t passed fit.

“They had a fierce pre-season (battle) and Hammer’s just come out on top and taken his spot,” Ellis said of the internal ruck competition.

“But (Maric) was never going to give up.

“He has that never-say-die attitude … it’s always good to have that competition.”