Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has lauded the milestone-game performances of key pillars Alex Rance and Jack Riewoldt in the Tigers' biggest win of the season.

Hardwick's men scored their first big scalp of the 2014, defeating top-four side Port Adelaide by 20 points to register their first win over a side in the top eight this season.

Rance was outstanding in defence in his 100th AFL game, limiting Coleman Medal leader Jay Schulz to just two goals, which he scored in the final term.

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Spearhead Riewoldt celebrated his 150th match in style with 22 disposals including an important three goals and had four assists.

"Alex has been terrific for probably a good two months now," Hardwick said after the win.

"Jack has got his detractors but we know when he plays some really good footy he's a quality player.

"I thought he was terrific today. He contested really well. He's back to the Jack we love, wining the ball and taking some really strong contested marks."

It wasn't just Riewoldt's accuracy in front of goal that impressed Hardwick on Sunday, with the forward playing a vital hand in four other goals.

"Score assists have been a strength of his game over the course of the last two seasons," Hardwick said.

"The thing that probably deserted him a little bit this year was he didn’t kick well for goal.

"We've been happy with the way he's been playing. He's a real team-first player, which is impressive for a guy that's a full-forward - they're not often built that way.

"But Jack to his credit is probably a little bit too unselfish at times."

The Tigers dominated the Power in three key areas across the ground, contested possession, tackles and clearances.

Richmond had 33 more contested possessions than Port Adelaide, a statistic that was most pleasing to Hardwick. 

"To win by plus 33, and to win the tackles as well. It's not often that you have that kind of domination inside.

"We knew we had to win the inside battle against them; if you let them get it outside you're going to be hurting and we saw that in the last quarter."