Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has dispelled any notion of the Tigers being forced to guard against complacency creeping in, as they prepare for their inaugural clash with competition newcomer Greater Western Sydney on Saturday.

The Tigers suffered a shock 15-point loss to the Gold Coast Suns in their first-up meeting at Cazaly’s Stadium, Cairns, in Round 17 last season.

Hardwick, however, believes complacency is not an issue at all, as the team focuses on getting the job done. 

“I think that’s a bit of a fallacy, really,” he said.

“Every game is important - this season especially . . . 

“The amount of wins that are going to get sides into the eight is probably around the 13 mark, so every game is vitally important, and this week is no different . . .

“It’s going to be a good game.  The GWS kids, I’ve been very impressed with the way they’ve played.

“They’re a tough, hard unit, in the mould of ‘Sheeds’ (Kevin Sheedy) and ‘Choco’ (Mark Williams), as we know . . .

“Against Essendon, they had more scoring shots at half-time, against Geelong they were even.  

“They’ve probably fallen away at various stages, but we’ve got to be completely on top of our game to get over the top of this mob . . .

“They’re going to be a handful, especially early, coming off the break.  We’re expecting a really tough, hard game early.

“We’ve just got to match that and, hopefully, get the ascendancy and come out on top.”