Coach compares Tigers with in-form Adelaide

RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick is not buying into the idea that Fremantle can be taken lightly this weekend.

Damian Hardwick

RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick says he has not experienced anything like the hype engulfing the Tigers.

But Hardwick added more fuel to the yellow and black army's fire yesterday after likening his team to surprise packet Adelaide.

Hardwick said the Tigers' belief was growing with every win, in the same way he'd seen confidence soar with the Crows, who are sitting third with an 8-2 record.

"It's amazing when the confidence of a group grows - and we are probably no different - you probably play a little bit outside yourself at stages," he said.

"And Adelaide are showing that, at the moment, they're playing some outstanding footy that no one saw coming, except for themselves internally.

"We're probably a little bit the same. We know it's there.

"We have just got to keep building on what we do well, eradicate some deficiencies that we know are there and we will keep getting the results we are after."

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Impressive wins against Hawthorn and St Kilda in the past two weeks have fuelled expectations among supporters, who have taken the club's membership beyond 50,000 for the first time.

Hardwick said it was not hard to keep the hype under control internally, with the players aware of the job in front of them if they wanted to play finals.

"We're 5-5, sitting 10th. We're not even in the eight," he said.

"We're a long way short of where we want to go and a long way short of where we want to be.

"We're under no illusions that we have got a fair bit of work ahead of us to get the result done to try to get back into the eight."

Hardwick was wary of the challenge at the MCG tomorrow against Fremantle, which has won only one of its past five clashes with Richmond.

"Defensively, they are the best in the AFL," Hardwick said of the Dockers.

"I don't know whether the stats back that up ... but if we don't control the game the way we want to control (it), they will do some damage and stifle us offensively."

Hardwick joked he would have ruckman Ivan Maric well prepared for his battle with Dockers giant Aaron Sandilands.

"I'm going to give a baseball bat to Ivan when he goes out there on the weekend," he said.

"He (Sandilands) is a fantastic specimen. We were watching some vision of him today with our boys.

"The funny thing about him (his ability) to cover the ground is enormous. He's 123kg and he covers the ground like a six-foot player. He is fantastic.

"He is a formidable opponent, no doubt about that."