Richmond still believes it can play finals this year and will want its skipper to be fit and firing for the must-win clash against the struggling Suns.
Star defender Alex Rance said: "You're always playing to win so if you're not playing for finals then there's something wrong."
The Tigers are still stinging from a scathing in-house review of last Friday's loss to the Roos and Rance wasn't hiding from the disappointment of the 70-point defeat, which leaves the team in 14th position, just one spot ahead of the Suns.
"There were a lot of glaring mistakes and issues that we want to stamp out so they don't become habit," Rance said.
Despite their ladder position, the two-time All Australian wasn't conceding that their season was done and dusted.
Rance admitted the Tigers may have been caught out by the quicker style of game this season.
"We probably kick along down the line a bit too much at the moment, which really plays into a lot of other team's defence's hands, so they can rebound pretty quickly," he said.
"You're not really going to win a lot of games if you're just going to be kicking long down the line.
"That's one thing that is pretty well publicised that we need to improve on, and we'll do that."
While Richmond wants to make a statement about its season, Rance believed the Suns - who haven't won since round three - wouldn't let them have it all their own way.
"Over the last four weeks they're number four for contested ball and tackles so it's definitely not going to be walk in the park," Rance said.
He expects to line-up on key Sun Tom Lynch, who he rated as the top forward in the competition at the moment.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-06-09/richmond-star-mid-misses-training-with-illness
