IT'S BEEN an up and down season for both sides, but the clash between Richmond and Essendon on Saturday at the MCG will go a long way towards deciding which club remains in the hunt for a finals berth.

Essendon has won its last four after losing the eight before that – a spectacular return to form – while the Tigers have won three of their last four after just one win in the seven before that, meaning both teams have won four since round four.

With both clubs a couple of games away from finals contention, this has the hallmarks of a classic eight-point game. The loser's chances will have almost gone but the winner will at least retain a sniff.

The Tigers are just half-a-game ahead of the Bombers and assistant coach Brian Royal warned that the Bombers weren't to be taken lightly.

"Oh listen, they've been terrific in the last month," he said. "They've improved in a lot of areas of the game.

"No doubt (Mark) McVeigh is going to be a big loss to them but again, one door shuts and another one opens.

"We've just got to be careful that whether it's (Sam) Lonergan that comes in, obviously (Andrew) Welsh has been in very good form, (Brent) Stanton's in terrific form, (David) Hille's in terrific form.

"So I think they can cover him."

Royal said that whether the Tigers were on the finals tightrope or not, they couldn't afford to fall away now.

"The next seven games, from our point-of-view, are critical. Whether that's to play finals, or whether that's just to continue the improvement that we've shown this year."