HAVING hit a nine-year low against Port Adelaide a week ago, Richmond returned to the Tigers of old on Sunday in a breakthrough win over Sydney built on intense pressure.

AFL.com.au reported last week that Richmond's pressure rating of 150 in its loss to the Power in round two was the club's lowest since 2015, before the Tigers went on their run of three premierships in four years.

A tackle count against the Power of just 32, down from 54 the week before, was also acknowledged within the four walls at Punt Rd in the build-up to the Swans clash.

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And Adem Yze's side responded in style, lifting its pressure rating to 173 (+23 from the week before) and registering nearly twice as many tackles (59), including 14 tackles inside 50 compared to just four for the Swans.

The pressure differential change from -32 against the Power to +3 against the Swans is the 11th biggest week-to-week jump in the past four seasons and Richmond's sixth biggest jump on record, according to Champion Data.

The Tigers also picked up eight free kicks for holding the ball, underlining how little space the normally free-slowing Swans had to move.

Yze conceded the numbers from the Power clash had stung the playing group into action.

"We weren't happy with the way that we pressured last week. We were just a step off," he said after celebrating his first win as senior coach.

"It's unlike us, it's not a Richmond type of game if we only lay 30 tackles. So, to the players' credit, to the leaders' credit, they recognised that during the week, and we trained it.

"Last week (the pressure rating) was really low so we were keeping an eye on it.

"That's the standard we want to be able to bring every week. We want to be really hard to play against."

The key to the Tigers' shock win was their third-quarter surge, when they registered a pressure rating of 182, their third highest for a quarter so far this season. The pressure differential for the term of +34 was a season high and led to them kicking five goals to one and build what proved to be a match-winning lead.

"They put enormous pressure on the footy, we fumbled a bit and then gave them looks," Swans coach John Longmire said.

"And once you do that, they were able to get the ball forward, and we weren't able to score off turnovers easily and they were."