The clash between the top-of-the-table Tigers and the third-placed Magpies is the match of the round, with Hardwick wary of the improvement the Pies have added to their game since their last clash earlier this season.
"They've been terrific. I remember after we played them in round six, I thought they were an outstanding side then," he said.
"We took some things we thought they were doing really well, we looked at those and added a few of those dynamics to our game as well.
"Bucks is coaching them really well and they're playing really well, they're really tough to beat, they've got a great system in place and they play that system really well.
"It's going to be an incredible challenge for us to try and beat them but we certainly look forward to that, there are some things in our game we look forward to challenging ourselves against and seeing how the game pans out."
Source: AFL website