RICHMOND captain Trent Cotchin is confident he'll be right to take on Greater Western Sydney as the besieged side attempts to pick up the pieces.
Cotchin suffered an ankle injury on Saturday as the Tigers' poor season plunged to new depths, a 17-point loss to Melbourne leaving them with a 2-6 record that suggests finals are a mathematical possibility and little more.
Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said the injury should have stopped Cotchin from playing at the MCG after quarter-time.
In-form defender David Astbury suffered a suspected patella dislocation and is set to miss the rest of the season.
But Cotchin was upbeat he would make the trip to Sydney.
"I'll have a really positive week on the track with the boys and then get a win against GWS," Cotchin told Channel 7's AFL Game Day.
Cotchin was still reeling from his team's tame display in a match that was designed to honour the memory of the club's four-time premiership coach Tom Hafey.
"One of our greats passed during the week ... and to let not only our football club, but our fans and his family down is disappointing," Cotchin said on Sunday.
"Two wins isn't enough if you want to compete for finals at this stage ... this week will be one of our most stern reviews, it needs to be put on a few blokes."
Essendon icon Matthew Lloyd, speaking on Channel 9, said the extended absence of Astbury would hurt the out-of-form Tigers.
"Astbury is the only one that's improved on their whole list this year. They're slow through the midfield and they've got a poor skill level," Lloyd said.
"They're in a real hole at the moment ... (against Melbourne) there was no thought in the way Richmond moved the footy."
Luckless Astbury spoke to reporters on Sunday after twisting his left knee, saying he expects scans to show the same injury he suffered to his right knee in round 12 of 2011.
Astbury didn't return until round 22 in 2012.
“I knew straight away that it wasn’t a great injury,” Astbury told The Sunday Footy Show.
“Once I got into the medical room and spoke to the doc, he assured me my ACL was in a pretty good way so that’s a positive.
“I’ve obviously rehabbed a knee with this injury before so I know what I did right and wrong and I’ll bounce back.
“I was just initially distraught, you obviously have that first initial pain and it’s pretty uncomfortable but then that wave of emotion crosses over you.”
Fellow defender Troy Chaplin told Channel 7 Astbury had been "our most consistent and best player this year".
"It's just terrible for him, he's just such a great person," Chaplin added.
