RICHMOND'S ruck stocks have received a boost ahead of the Dreamtime at the 'G clash against Essendon on Saturday, after big men Angus Graham and Andrew Browne were cleared at the VFL Tribunal.

Graham was found not guilty of kicking North Ballarat opponent Michael Searl during Coburg's loss to the Roosters on Saturday.

Graham, 25, was sent off after allegedly kicking Searl while lying on the ground after a mark during the first half.

But tribunal chairman Eddie Power said the tribunal was unsure after watching footage of Graham's incident that his foot had made contact with Searl. Therefore a charge could not be sustained.

Browne, 21, was found guilty of handling umpire Jason Schilling and fined $400.

The tribunal ruled that while Browne had made contact with the umpire, it was not reckless, negligent or intentional.

The ball had been kicked to him and he'd bumped into the umpire without seeing him.

Both big men could be in the frame to return to the senior line-up against Essendon, despite Richmond beating the Sydney Swans on Saturday playing a sole ruckman, Ivan Maric, in the absence of the injured Tyrone Vickery.

Vickery - a tall forward who relieves Maric in the ruck - missed the Swans match because of a calf strain.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said the Tigers were considering taking a second ruckman into the Essendon match in a bid to curb in-form duo Paddy Ryder and Tom Bellchambers.

Ryder and Bellchambers eclipsed West Coast duo Dean Cox and Scott Lycett during the Bombers' victory over the Eagles at the weekend.

Graham and Browne are being considered if Vickery is unable to come up from his calf strain.

Vickery worked only slowly during training at Punt Road Oval on Tuesday morning, doing light strides on his own.

Coach Damien Hardwick said that if Vickery comes through his fitness test, he'll certainly play against the Bombers.

"He's so important to our structure," Hardwick said. "We've just got to get him through the week and see how he goes."

Maric played almost the entire match against the Swans. He was relieved only briefly by Brad Miller, who generally plays as a lead-up forward.

The Swans' ruckmen, Mark Seaby and Jesse White, posed nothing like the problem that Ryder and Bellchambers are likely to provide this weekend.

If Vickery is injured and the Tigers plump for a second ruckman, Graham would be the obvious choice after several strong games with Coburg this season.

Browne had almost 100 hit-outs playing with the Coburg Tigers' reserves a fortnight ago and was named among the best players for Coburg's senior team last weekend.

Tom Derickx would be a like-for-like replacement for Vickery in that he plays as a tall forward who relieves in the ruck, but his form with Coburg is unlikely to merit selection.

Without Vickery in attack against the Swans, Richmond played key midfielders Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin out of the goalsquare at various times.

The tactic created a potent forward line, making the Swans' defence look to be on edge whenever either Cotchin or Martin threatened to take the ball, but it returned only one goal, to Martin.

Hardwick said the Tigers' selection considerations for the Essendon match would include a strong focus on negating Ryder and Bellchambers.  

"They're such formidable opponents," he said, adding that Bellchambers has been in All Australian form.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL