Here is Richmond coach Damien Hardwick’s assessment of the Tigers’ Round 10 opponent, Essendon . . .

“I think they’re playing a sustainable brand of footy. They haven’t won as many games as they’d like, but they’ve been in every game.

“The first one or two (games) was probably a little bit non-Essendon, but from thereon their consistency level has been very good.

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“They’ve got a good defensive system that keeps them in games.

“They’re probably a little bit like us at stages.

“Offensively, some things are working and not working at various stages.

“They’re a side than can hurt you, there’s no doubt about it.

“They’re one of the more exciting sides in the competition. They attack well from the back half and they can score freely from the back half.

“So we’ve got to have our guard up.

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“They’re a really good side when they’re allowed to play their way.

“We’ve got to make sure that we take that away from them as much as possible.”