RICHMOND captain Chris Newman says midfielder Dustin Martin is "buzzing" about the prospect of returning to the Tigers' line-up for their big clash against North Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.

Martin is set to return from a two-match club suspension after being late for a training session because he'd slept in.

"He's done everything right over the last couple of weeks," Newman said.

"He's learned from it (the suspension).

"It's up to us now to get around him, give him a cuddle, get behind him and make sure he plays some good footy."

Newman said Martin had been trying to "put his best foot forward" during what's amounted to a mini-pre-season over the past fortnight, including dawn training sessions.

"He gets up nice and early, has some brekky, he's got a nice routine now," Newman said.

"Hopefully he reaps some benefits."

Richmond has a 7-8 record and is in 11th position. It goes into the game needing to win to keep alive its slim finals chances.

North Melbourne has an 8-7 record and is in ninth position. It must win to shore up its finals chances.

Newman said the Tigers had put last weekend's two-point loss to Gold Coast in Cairns behind them.

"We just have to get back on the horse and play some good footy," he said.

The task now is to curb North Melbourne, whose forward line has been in superb touch.

The Roos have beaten Adelaide, St Kilda and Carlton and lost to West Coast by just two points over the past month.

Key forwards Drew Petrie, Lachie Hansen and Robbie Tarrant kicked 12 goals between them during the Roos' 53-point defeat of the Blues last weekend.

Newman described the Roos' forward line as "dynamic", meaning they have a dangerous combination of tall and small forwards.

 "They're a really tricky forward line to match up on," he said.

"Their offensive game at the moment is as strong as anyone in the competition.

"They've been pretty good defensively, too.

 "We're back in the MCG and after last week we're looking to bounce back with a really strong performance."