Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has outlined the importance of the Tigers casting aside the disappointment of last Saturday’s four-point loss to Fremantle and taking a positive approach into Friday night’s big challenge against reigning premier, and this year’s hot flag favorite Hawthorn, at the MCG.  

"It was a gut-wrenching loss [but], the fact of the matter is you can't dwell on that, you have got to move forward," Hardwick said.

“The season doesn’t wait for us, so it’s really important to bounce back and continue to gain momentum . . .”

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Hardwick, who worked as an assistant coach under Alastair Clarkson at Hawthorn, before taking the senior role at Richmond, believes both teams are playing the best football he'd seen from them, so Friday night’s match should be high quality.

The Tigers have defeated the Hawks in two of their past three encounters by dominating in contested ball, but Hardwick is placing little emphasis on that for this encounter.

“There is a template there that we like, but it is easier said than done. It's easy to have the answers, but to get the equation [right] is probably the difficult thing against a quality side like Hawthorn,” Hardwick said.

“The thing with Hawthorn is you can go chasing their match-ups all the way round, but their flexibility is well known . . . (Sam) Mitchell will be in the middle, half-forward, wing, half-back at stages.

“So, it’s just going to be our system versus theirs, really.

“We’ve just got to make sure we play our best footy to make sure we get the result that we’re after.

“We think, when we play our best, we’re capable of beating the best.

“It’s a huge challenge against a formidable opponent, but one we’re looking forward to . . .”