RICHMOND is "incredibly confident" Jack Riewoldt will get the final tick-off on Thursday to face Geelong, with coach Damien Hardwick hinting he could even trial his star forward in new roles.
Riewoldt has missed wins against Gold Coast and Hawthorn after he was accidently poked in the eye in a training incident two weeks ago, requiring surgery and several stitches.
Hardwick said the Tigers' ability to maintain their scoring power without the two-time Coleman medallist gave them the option to look at a role up the ground for Riewoldt.
"It was good to see other players step up in his absence and they certainly had to with our best goalkicker and score-assist player out of the forward 50," Hardwick said on Thursday.
"We were really pleased with what the guys were able to produce and I think Jack was incredibly pleased with the group.
"It gives us some things to think about and where we're able to utilise him as well.
"You've only got to look at (Hawthorn captain) Jarryd Roughead on the weekend playing a little bit onball. Do we explore that and change up our forward line as well? It's exciting for us."
Hardwick said Richmond's doctors were "incredibly confident" Riewoldt would be given the green light to return when he revisits his specialist on Thursday.
The star forward trained with Richmond's development squad on Tuesday and re-joined the main group on Thursday to complete a full session.
"Our doctor is very confident, touch wood, that he'll get the tick-off from the specialist today and then he should be available to play. We're very confident," Hardwick said on Thursday.
"He's had full vision for seven or eight days now."
Hardwick said Richmond's ability to win when a star player was sidelined - or below their best - was a key difference for the Tigers in 2017 when compared to last year's 8-14 season.
Saturday's blockbuster against top-four rival Geelong presents an opportunity for the Tigers to end a 12-game losing streak against the Cats, with their last win at Simonds Stadium coming in 2006.
Hardwick expected to encounter a cauldron like atmosphere in Geelong, comparing the trip to an interstate match.
"We'll be taking them on in a hostile environment, obviously. Simonds Stadium is a different environment again, very skinny and long," the coach said.
"But it's an incredible challenge for us. We think it will suit our style of game with our pressure and contested-ball situation.
"We're really looking forward to the challenge of going down there. It's very much like an interstate trip really … it's only an hour down the highway but it feels like that sort of game."
The Tigers' chances were boosted by the Match Review Panel on Monday when Geelong key forward Tom Hawkins (two matches) and midfielder Mitch Duncan (one match) were offered suspensions they ultimately accepted.
Cats captain Joel Selwood is also sidelined with an ankle injury for at least the rest of the home and away season, but Hardwick said the uncertainty around the Geelong line-up was not a positive for him.
"As coaches we love predictability of how they're going to play and how they're going to line up," he said.
"With 'Hawk' going out it is a different look, whether Harry (Taylor) goes forward, we probably think that may be the case.
"So it's going to be a different look for them and for us. But once again we don't want to see the good players rubbed out for incidents such as that."
