Richmond coach Damien Hardwick will go head-to-head with his old mentor Kevin Sheedy for the first time when the Tigers take on Greater Western Sydney in Saturday’s Round 12 clash at Skoda Stadium.

Hardwick played 153 games under Sheedy’s coaching guidance at Essendon from 1994-01 and was a member of the Bombers’ 2000 premiership side.

He subsequently moved to Port Adelaide, where he played under Mark Williams, who nowadays is Sheedy’s senior assistant coach at GWS.

Williams coached Port to the 2004 premiership triumph over Brisbane, with Hardwick playing a key role in that team, in what was his final game of league football.