RICHMOND has slowly been gathering momentum since round 12 last year and ahead of Sunday's NAB Cup clash with Fremantle, it seems there's plenty to be excited about at Tigerland.

The Tigers won eight of their last 11 matches in 2008, a stat that has president Gary March and vice-captain Nathan Foley smiling for different reasons.

For Foley – after making a late and ultimately unsuccessful run for the finals last year – playing football again and trying to build on the gains of 2008 is exciting.

"We finished really strongly last year, particularly in the second half," Foley said from Perth on Friday night.

"We've had a good, solid pre-season and been lucky enough to have the majority of the group complete a fair bit of the pre-season. So taking that into 2009 will be exciting.

"I think blokes getting their third and fourth pre-seasons into them is just invaluable. Come the season, the guys that have done that will really reap the rewards."

While March has an obvious interest in the Tigers' on-field success, he has welcomed off-field gains following last season's strong run home.

Fans sensing success are jumping on board with memberships, with those numbers up 25 per cent on this time last year. WA membership has more than doubled to 1000 following the signing of Ben Cousins.

The former Eagle's move to Richmond has certainly overshadowed the football news coming out of Punt Road, but Foley said the squad was in good shape and in a strong position ahead of the NAB Cup.

"We're pretty lucky to have a squad that's up and running at the moment so it gives us the luxury to be able to have a large list to pick from," Foley said.

"You'll see the likes of Jack Riewoldt coming through, Shane Edwards, Matt White – blokes that played really solid footy last year and will continue to improve.

"[The recruits] have settled in really well and they've been a great group. They've adapted well to training and most importantly they've come in injury free. Obviously we've watched their load a bit but they've been very solid, which is great."

Foley said the strong squad Richmond that travelled to Perth was more an indication of the side's health than a clear sign they want to win the pre-season competition.

But the midfielder said his teammates were looking forward to running out on Subiaco Oval, where the Tigers notched convincing wins over both Fremantle and West Coast last season.