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Tigers must beat Blues’ midfield: Hardwick

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says his AFL club will need to beat Carlton in their area of greatest strength, the midfield, to win Thursday night’s MCG encounter.

The Blues have won the past seven contests between the clubs and Hardwick said their midfield dominance had been the key to that streak.

While Carlton are missing three first-choice defenders, forward Andrew Walker and ruckman Robbie Warnock for the much-anticipated round-one clash, Hardwick said their midfield remained as strong as ever.

But he said a fast-improving Tigers midfield brigade could still outpoint them.

“Their midfield, we’ve lowered our colours to them a number of times over the last couple of years, so we’re looking to reverse that trend,” Hardwick told reporters on Wednesday.

“If we can get the ball inside 50, an area of strength of ours is our ability to score, so we’ll just make sure we try to win the midfield battle and go from there.”

Hardwick said the move of Brett Deledio this season from defence to the centre of the ground would make a big difference, along with the development of young guns Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin.

“It’s very similar to the age bracket (of Carlton’s midfield) when (Chris) Judd first came to the Blues,” he said.

“Our players are starting to get three to four pre-seasons under their belt, so they’re maturing as a group, which is really exciting for us.”

Hardwick said a strong pre-season had put the Tigers in a positive mood.

“We go in confident, we’re playing some good football, but Carlton on the other hand are a formidable opposition,” he said.

“They’re a top four, five side and although their pre-season record says they haven’t won a game, they’ve been well and truly in every game, so we’re under no illusions how good they can be.”

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