Their stars are returning and the quality of play is improving – now Richmond must win.
Regardless of the high emotions surrounding the death of club immortal Tom Hafey, Saturday’s AFL match against Melbourne at the MCG is crucial for the Tigers.
Last year’s elimination finalists have started this season poorly and only have two wins from seven games.
Melbourne have the same win-loss record and they will fancy their chances of a significant upset.
But if Richmond end up having a successful season, this three-week block will have been pivotal.
After Hawthorn totally outclassed them in round six, Richmond went down to Geelong by only five points.
Coach Damien Hardwick said they used last weekend’s bye to conduct a thorough review.
“It’s been a tough period and we’re nowhere near where we want to be,” he said.
“You lose two games by under a kick, you only have yourself to blame.
“We have to make sure we put our heads down and bums up and get the results we’re after.”
It is no coincidence that as soon as key players Brett Deledio and Alex Rance returned from injury, the Tigers nearly beat the Cats.
Star ruckman Ivan Maric will play for the first time at any level this year when he has a run on Saturday in the VFL.
Hardwick said their injury list is also noticeably shorter.
He pointed to Adelaide’s upset win over Collingwood on Thursday night when explaining the importance of having Deledio and Rance back in the side.
“Funnily enough, you see `Tex’ Walker come back for Adelaide and it’s a flow-on effect,” Hardwick said.
“You see the immediate impact of having a quality player back in your organisation, where other players get better as a result.”
Saturday will mark the senior debut of utility Ben Lennon, who was Richmond’s top pick at No.12 in last year’s national draft.
Lennon was a chance to play in round one, but suffered a knee injury.
Another boost for Richmond – and key forward Jack Riewoldt in particular – is that Melbourne have lost James Frawley to injury.
While Frawley has played in attack for the last few weeks, he has a very good record on Riewoldt.
But Hardwick said Demons defenders such as Tom McDonald and Lynden Dunn were in good form.
“Melbourne, to their credit, have been outstanding defensively anyway,” he said.
“As a side, we haven’t been scoring enough and it’s something we’re obviously looking to increase this week.”
