RICHMOND is set to follow Adelaide's lead and pit one of its main ball-winners against Fremantle star Nat Fyfe in a head-to-head battle when the team's clash at Domain Stadium on Friday night. 

 

Crows star Patrick Dangerfield racked up 38 possessions last Saturday night, compared to Fyfe's 40, in an epic attacking battle between two of the game's superstars.

Hardwick said using one of his own stars, like Trent Cotchin or Brett Deledio, against Fyfe was the first option the Tigers were looking at as they seek to extend their three-game winning streak against the unbeaten Dockers.

Dustin Martin, who has been pushing forward more often and leads the Tigers for inside 50s, is another option available to Hardwick.

Match preview: Tigers v Dockers

"We'll probably go head-to-head at this stage, and if he gets out of hand we'll look at coming up with something else," Hardwick said as the Tigers flew out of Melbourne on Thursday.

"Very similar to us is what Adelaide did (with Dangerfield). The fact of the matter is even if you do tag him he's still capable of getting 20-25 touches.

"We're just going to assume he's going to get 30 touches, we've got to make sure our guy gets 35.

"We'll have a number of options up our sleeve to combat him, but hopefully our boys come out on top."

Head-to-head happiness for Walsh, Lyon

Hardwick said he was wary of the Dockers' midfield depth, with David Mundy (27 possessions a game) and Lachie Neale (26.2) both capable of playing match-winning roles if the Tigers locked down on Fyfe.

 

The coach said Shaun Grigg was one Tiger capable of playing a run-with role on Friday night if the Tigers needed him to.  

"He's a player that not only has the capacity to go to someone, but the opposition side has to worry about also," Hardwick said.  

"Hopefully he can continue that trend and kick some goals also."

Tall forward Ty Vickery travelled with the Tigers on Thursday but will need to prove his fitness on Thursday afternoon after missing one match with an ankle and knee complaint.  

Fellow talls Ben Griffiths and Liam McBean also travelled, while Nathan Gordon was brought into the squad that beat Essendon in round nine.

Veteran Chris Newman is set to play up to three quarters in the VFL after recovering from a groin injury.

With a settled backline that hasn't changed in the past three weeks – and opposition scores of 53 and 43 in the past two weeks – Hardwick said Friday night's clash was likely to be defensively minded.

"[The backline] is probably the one line where we haven't had an injury," Hardwick said. 

"Our other lines have probably been a patchwork quilt at stages.

"Bachar Houli has had a great season, Alex Rance is in All Australian form and Nick Vlastuin has had a great year also, like all of them.

"Troy Chaplin is a bit of a leader of ceremonies down there, so to speak. His leadership has been outstanding."