RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick says too much has been made of the injuries to Carlton's defenders and not enough attention has been paid to importance of the Blues midfield.

Michael Jamison, Nick Duigan and Jeremy Laidler will be missing from the Blues defence during Thursday night's season opener at the MCG, while forward Andrew Walker and Rob Warnock will also be unavailable through injury.

The key to the Blues is that gun midfielders such as Chris Judd, Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs and Kade Simpson will be playing, although Judd is expected to be underdone after a limited pre-season.

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"A lot's been made of the Carlton injuries, but their midfield is the key," Hardwick said.

"We've lowered our colours to [their midfield] in the last couple of years and we're looking to reverse that tend.

"If we can get the ball inside 50, a strength of ours is our ability to score.

"We'll try and win the midfield battle and go from there."

The Tigers' midfield could not be more cherry ripe going into the round one clash. Dustin Martin, Trent Cotchin, Nathan Foley and Daniel Jackson are at full fitness following impressive pre-seasons.

Brett Deledio missed a month with a hamstring injury but kicked four goals on his return against Greater Western Sydney last week.

Hardwick said the Tigers' were in the best shape they had been in for the opening round since he took over as Richmond coach before the 2010 season.

"Our pre-season's been very good, our talent has improved, so we go in confident," he said.

"We've played some good football.

"But Carlton on the other hand are formidable opposition. They're a top four or five side.

"Although their NAB Cup form says they haven't won a game, they've well and truly been in every game. So we're under no illusions about how good they can be."

Hardwick said there would be between two and four new faces in the Tigers' line-up. Defenders Steven Morris and Brandon Ellis and forward Addam Maric are expected to be in the squad when it's named this afternoon.

Morris and Ellis would want to be on their guards if they're to play as small defenders. Blues small forward Eddie Betts and Jeff Garlett are renowned for their ability to escape from their opponents' grasp.

"They're chaotic in that every player can bob up and kick goals," Hardwick said.

The Tigers coach said his coaches and players had paid no attention to the 103-point loss to Carlton in round 15 last year.

"It's long gone."

But he did admit that the Tigers might be more settled now that he and Brett Deledio had signed new contracts.

Hardwick's contract was extended by three years, taking him to the end of the 2014 season. Deledio announced on Monday that he had a new five-year contract.

When asked what the Tigers would take out of the much-hyped match against Carlton if they win, Hardwick said: "Confidence.

"It's a massive build-up to round one. But we just control what we can control."

Steven Morris is a $102,400 defender in Toyota AFL Dream Team. Register your team here