From the Hun....
RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick came away from yesterday's nine-point win over the Western Bulldogs confident his team was in great shape for its Round 1 showdown against Carlton.
The Tigers have dropped only one game in the pre-season and have almost a full list to chose from for the season opener on Thursday week.
Against the Dogs they came from 18 points down in the third quarter to kick seven of the last nine goals in scrappy conditions at Visy Park, and did so with subdued performances from key players Trent Cotchin (18 disposals), Jack Riewoldt (one goal and six disposals), Dustin Martin and Chris Newman (10 possessions each).
''It was a tough old game really, and the conditions weren't really great, but to walk away at the end of the NAB Cup campaign with four wins and one loss was a reasonable result for us,'' Hardwick said.
Jake King and Daniel Jackson, who were rested yesterday, are both expected to be available for the Round 1 match against the Blues.
Chris Knights and Dylan Grimes, who have had injury-interrupted pre-seasons, are expected to get at least a half in Coburg's VFL match against Weribee on Sunday.
Nathan Foley remains at least a month away from playing.
The Tigers had six multiple goalkickers, led by ruckman Ivan Maric, with Luke McGuane (two goals) presenting as a third marking forward.
''He was good, kicked a couple of goals,'' Hardwick said. ''He does compete, Luke, that's the one thing we love about him.''
The Bulldogs were disappointed they could not finish off the march, but would be encouraged by knowing about a half a dozen new faces could come into the team that finished the 2012 season, with Brett Goodes, Jason Johannisen, Nick Lower and Tom Young among those with strong cases for inclusion.
Lower did exceptionally well nullifying Cotchin, restricting him to just six disposals in the first half and frustrating the Tigers skipper throughout.
Assistant coach Brett Montgomery was buoyed that experienced core played well, but several recruits had played well.
''At the selection table ... we've got plenty to choose from and there were at least 12 or 13 weeks last year where that wasn't the case and we were just putting whatever we had out there,'' Montgomery said.
Adam Cooney (24 touches) showed glimpses of the explosive best that was a feature of his glory days, Robert Murphy was damaging alternating between half forward and half back and Daniel Giansiracusa (two goals) was a constant threat.
Ryan Griffen collected 30 possessions and Dale Morris totally outplayed Riewoldt.
Montgomery said the club was hopeful Shaun Higgins, Easton Wood and possibly Tom Williams would be available for the Round 1 match against Brisbane Lions at Etihad Stadium, although the Dogs were conscious of not including several underdone players in the 22.
Higgins and Wood are likely to play at VFL level next weekend.
Hardwick also backed the AFL's new sliding rules after the match.
''Overall I think the rule is great, I really like it. 54 free kicks today is a lot of free kicks. It's really hard for the umpires to administer. Is it forceful contact or is it (just) contact .... wet conditions is tough. I think the overriding concept is good.
''There's a couple though on a wet day where a guy slides to get the ball and a player falls over the top. They're probably the ones where we have to wait and see (how the rule is interpreted).''
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