IT'S NOT something Richmond supporters would be dwelling on, last year's result against Geelong in round six.

The Cats did as they wanted, racking up any number of records, including the ninth-highest all-time final score, resulting in a record losing margin for the yellow-and-blacks.

But Tigers coach Terry Wallace is promising a vastly better performance on Saturday afternoon at the MCG, as the Tigers take on the unbeaten Cats.

"It's a big challenge for us, but we've played against the better sides in the competition so far, and we think that we've handled ourselves pretty well," he said.

"We think that we've been competitive against the best sides in the competition. I mean, how much time you spend going back through history – I reckon we'll go better than this time last year, I don't think there'll be much doubt about that. I think it was 157 points or something.

"I reckon we'll vastly improve on that performance. We're in pretty good form, and in good nick as a side."

The Cats had half their team involved in the Hall of Fame Tribute Match last weekend, and the Tigers just two, something Wallace said was a complete unknown as to how it would affect this week.

"How they come off 11 blokes playing – that continuity of playing footy versus us not playing for an extra week – are you fresher, are they better off because they've had a hitout, all those sort of things come into play, and you never know where that sort of sits.

"We respect the opposition … We believe that we're getting better and that we're improving, and that we're more competitive against the good sides."

Wallace dismissed the idea that Geelong was due for a loss.

"Not really. No, no – we've been on the backend of some pretty big losses to Geelong, so for us to be sitting back and underestimating anything the reigning premiers are doing --  when they haven't lost a game -- I think we'd be kidding ourselves."