RICHARD Tambling has admitted struggling with comparisons with Lance Franklin in the early part of his career, but says he has developed his character as a result.

Tambling was famously taken by Richmond at pick four in the 2004 NAB AFL Draft, one pick before Hawthorn took Franklin.

Franklin's blistering start to his career was often compared to Tambling who suffered confidence problems.

Now on the eve of his 100th game, Tambling says he no longer feels he is living in Franklin's shadow.

"It was tough the first couple of years but I've come out the other side a better person and hopefully a better footballer," Tambling said on Thursday morning.

"There's definitely a lot of pressure on an 18-year-old to come out of school and set the world on fire, which Buddy did."

The Tigers take on the much-improved Fremantle this week and Tambling said his side looked at their opponents as an example of a team that can quickly bounce back from being a bottom-four club.

“We are playing a lot of new players this year. We've played almost all the first-year players now," he said.

"We play three good quarters and it is a five or ten minute period that we fade and teams score heavily against us, [but] we are still improving.

"We are setting winning attitudes on and off the field. We are looking forward to the next couple of games and the next 12 months or two years”.

Ben Cousins, Luke McGuane and Dean Polo are all eligible for selection after they were suspended for a week for disciplinary reasons following the round-three mach against the Sydney Swans.

Tambling said the club’s hard line on the trio would serve it well for the future.

 “It is setting winning standards for the team. If someone does something wrong they will be punished for it.

"That is what Damien (Hardwick) has set for the team. We’ve got to know what’s right and what’s wrong."