Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says talk is cheap and it’s time for his under-performing AFL team to play to their potential when they take on North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Sunday night.
After finishing just half a game outside the top four last season, the Tigers have been dreadfully disappointing in 2014, plumbing new depths in their last-start 50-point loss to Essendon.
Richmond were badly beaten in both contested ball and tackles by the Bombers, with the playing group leading training this week as they look to improve their intensity and work-rate.
But Hardwick said they needed to make it count.
“Talk is cheap; we have to make sure we deliver on the field and that’s something we haven’t done for the majority of the season,” he said.
“The great thing about our game is that we get another chance to prove to ourselves that we’re better than what we were last week.”
While Hardwick forecast changes to the lineup, that won’t include the return of veteran Chris Newman, who has been sidelined with a calf injury since the round-seven loss to Geelong.
Hardwick said Newman was training strongly but likely needed another week before being eligible for senior selection.
He conceded the young Tigers had sorely missed the former captain as well as forward Jake King.
“He’s an important player to our group, he provides that steely resolve and he’s like a coach on the field so we look forward to welcoming him back,” said Hardwick.
“They’ve (Newman and King) got years of experience and they’re tough competitors.”
Richmond (3-7 win-loss record) sit 13th on the ladder and the Kangaroos are eighth, although Hardwick believed they could be much higher, rating North a “top-four calibre side”.
He said if the Tigers didn’t shut down their opponents’ ball movement they would be in for a long night.
“When they get the game on their terms they are a very good side,” he said.
“We need to make sure we contain their ball movement.
“They attack really hard from the back half and they’re hard to stop when they’re up and going.”