RICHMOND assistant coach Mark Williams and former Port Adelaide defender Troy Chaplin have used their inside knowledge of the Power team to give the Tigers what they hope will be a match-winning advantage at AAMI Stadium on Saturday.
Williams left the Power at the end of 2010 after 11 years as coach, while Chaplin moved to Richmond as a free agent at the end of last season after nine years.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick conceded a lot had changed with the Power under new coach Ken Hinkley, but said he hoped to gain some valuable insights into individual players ahead of Saturday's crunch game.
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"He (Williams) makes no bones that he's certainly got some knowledge … he's had some input with regards to some strengths and weaknesses of those players," Hardwick said on Thursday.
"We looked at that today and we’ll look at that going forward this week.
"They're playing a different style to what they did last year, but the individual players is the one [area] where we feel we can get an advantage.
"We'll work our way through those and give our players some information they normally wouldn't have."
After three straight losses, Hardwick said the Tigers faced a big challenge against the 5-1 Power, and they will likely travel without defenders Dylan Grimes (foot) and Ricky Petterd (calf).
Ruckman Ivan Maric (ankle) is likely to be a game day decision, Hardwick said, while key forward Ty Vickery needs to pass a concussion test.
Hardwick said midfielder Nathan Foley was a "strong chance" to play his first game since round 10 last season after working his way back from an Achilles tendon injury in the VFL.
"He's trained incredibly hard over a long period of time and we have been what we feel has been cautious," Hardwick said.
"We've held him back, mainly because of his importance to the side.
"Last week was his first full game and he played three quarters the week prior, so we're pretty confident that he's ready to go.
"I asked him last week whether he though he was ready to play and he said he'd prefer to get one more game in, so we gave him that luxury.
"I know he's ready to go this week."
Hardwick said Shane Tuck would also be in consideration after laying 10 tackles in the VFL, while Jake Batchelor and David Astbury shape as potential replacements in the backline.
Aaron Edwards will be discussed after a strong run of VFL form, but is likely to come into the team only if Vickery is ruled out.
On the Power, Hardwick said there were similarities between Hinkley's team and Geelong, where the new coach was an assistant for the 2007 and 2009 premierships.
He said Port Adelaide was a team the Tigers felt they play well against and they would have opportunities to "get their offensive game up and going".
