FRIDAY night's clash against Essendon could determine whether Richmond is a finals contender or pretender, Tigers coach Damien Hardwick says.
Incredibly, the Tigers are back with a sniff of playing in September following their hard-fought 27-point win over Greater Western Sydney at the MCG on Saturday.
While Richmond could still find itself lagging two games outside the eight after round 19, West Coast's upset win over Adelaide has given the Tiger Army hope.
Hardwick tried to avoid fuelling the finals flame too much in his post-game press conference.
But the reality is the Tigers have won five in a row and sit within striking distance of the top eight with an 8-10 record.
"We just worry about what we control," Hardwick said.
"We've got to win a lot of games. We've got a big challenge next week. Friday will tell us a little bit more about that picture.
"We were really embarrassed about our game last time against Essendon. It was without doubt the worst game of the year. We're looking to rectify that next week.
"We're capable of upsetting some sides but we look no further than Essendon next week."
Although Hardwick conceded the Tigers are still some way of their best football, he was pleased with his side's ability to win "ugly".
"It was probably a frustrating game. I thought we moved the ball reasonably well at various stages, we just couldn't quite get that finishing touch inside 50," he said.
"They've got elite running capacity. They get numbers back and then they charge out so they're going to be a really impressive side.
"We're still not playing to the level that we'd like. We get away with the win today but I thought GWS showed us how good they were going to be."
Despite the Giants' damaging outside run, Richmond's 128-98 advantage on contested ball showed how far the Tigers have come in that area during their resurgence, Hardwick said.
"I think we're No.2 [in the AFL] at the moment from a differential point-of-view, that's been the difference in our ball game," he said.
While Hardwick encouraged his side to play with that hardness at the contest, he was quick to remind his players not to overstep the line in the wake of Ty Vickery's callous hit on Eagles ruckman Dean Cox.
There were shades of that aggression boiling over when Reece Conca elbowed Giants forward Devon Smith in the back of the head in the second quarter.
"I didn't see it. I heard he's got reported but it was outside my vision," Hardwick said.
"We want our guys to play to the line, we don't want them to step over.
"If he gets weeks, whatever it may be, we're really disappointed. We like our guys to play tough but we don't like them to go above and beyond."
Hardwick revealed Dustin Martin (15 possessions, 2.2) was lucky to overcome soreness to play, but he said the star midfielder will be "fine" to take on the Bombers.
With Martin quieter than usual, it was another Tiger Army favourite who stole the show.
Retired small forward Jake King sat among the Richmond faithful in the third quarter and made a popular exit after skolling a beer near three-quarter time.
However, Hardwick didn't think it was a good idea to invite King to repeat the dose.
"No, we don't need him skolling cans. Thank god he's not my problem anymore," Hardwick joked.
