RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick has indicated that the Tigers will not be spooked by Hawthorn's forward power during their match at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers will be stretched to cover the Hawks' gun tall forwards Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead given that key defender Dylan Grimes badly tore a hamstring during last weekend's 19-point loss to Essendon.
But Hardwick said the Tigers would not deviate from the plan that has taken them within a breath of defeating several top teams this season.
"Good sides play their own game," Hardwick said on Thursday.
"Not much will change from our point of view. We'll just go out there and do what we do and try to control the opposition's best players as best as we can."
Hardwick said it's been that way since he took over as coach before the 2010 season.
His adherence to his plan proved costly when his team lost its opening nine games that season, but there has been improvement ever since.
"I don’t think much has changed," he said.
"We've just got better at what we do."
The coach indicated that Alex Rance would take Franklin on Saturday, but the absence of Grimes means the match-up for Roughead remains up in the air.
Jake Batchelor, Ben Griffiths and Jayden Post are being considered for the role.
Batchelor has impressed whether playing short or tall in the Tigers' defence this season, while Griffiths and Post have impressed recently with Coburg Tigers.
Hardwick said Grimes would return after the Tigers' bye in round 13.
He said he feels for Melbourne coach Mark Neeld because he went through a similarly tough period at the beginning of his coaching career.
"Mark knows what he's trying to do. It's just going to take time," Hardwick said.
"We were in exactly the same situation when we were 0-9. You could see the pieces of the puzzle come together slowly.
"It does take time for a playing group to get the game plan you're trying to implement.
"Mark will be feeling flat at some stages, but he'll get there.
"He's very, very thorough. He'll continue on his pathway. He won't deviate from his plan.
"That's what will get the job done for him."
Statistics show that Richmond and Hawthorn play similar styles.
The link is Hardwick, who was an assistant coach at Hawthorn before joining Richmond.
Both teams are at the bottom of the table in terms of forcing stoppages. The Hawks are equal 16th and the Tigers are 18th.
Once stoppages do occur, both teams are adept at winning the clearances. Hawthorn is fifth on the table while Richmond is sixth.
Richmond is slightly better at defending at stoppages.
The indications are that the fortunes of Saturday's match should come down to match-ups in attack and defence.
