Richmond is planning to negate North Melbourne’s slingshot style from half-back in this Saturday’s Round 6 match at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena.
Efficiency inside 50 will be a key focus for the Tigers, to prevent the Kangaroos’ elite ball movement from the defensive end.
“The one thing we’ve probably got to take out of games with North is we dominate the inside-50 count most times, but they manage to get those goals over the back,” Richmond coach Damien Hardwick told the media on Thursday.
Get all the match day information for Saturday's match against North Melbourne
“That’s our big selection point this week and also one of our strategies, to make sure we deny that.
“They do score heavily on that rebound. They get numbers back and they’re incredibly quick moving that ball through the corridor and through their handball-receive players.
Both teams enter the game with 2-3 win/loss records, although Hardwick is treating the game like any other.
“They’re all season-defining games from our point of view. It’s a cut-throat industry,” he said.
“There’s 22 games in the season. The win-loss is what it is. We don’t worry about it all of a sudden getting out of control.
“We just get the process right, and the result will take care of itself.
“North Melbourne are a good side. They’ve got the same record as us at the moment, so it’s going to be a great challenge for both football clubs.
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“Our games have been relatively close . . . within three or four goals either way.
“Every game is different. We don’t look back, we just look forward, making sure we just control what we can control.”
A key match-up will be in the ruck, between inspirational Tiger Ivan Maric and his North counterpart Todd Goldstein, whom Hardwick described as the in-form ruckman of the competition.
"Ivan's form has been pretty good over the course of the year, but Goldstein is another dimension from a playing point of view," he said.
"His form is outstanding. He covers a lot of ground. He's an incredible athlete for a ruckman, and he just gets his hands on the ball."
