Presenting all you need to know about the Tigers ahead of Friday night's Preliminary Final at the MCG:
Form
The Tigers put together a very impressive home and away campaign, winning 18 of their 22 matches and finishing on top of the ladder for the first time since 1982.
They beat Collingwood twice along the way, by 43 points in round six and 28 points in round 19.
Richmond's only losses so far this season have come interstate. The Tigers went down to the Crows in Adelaide, the Eagles in Perth, the Power in Adelaide and the Giants in Sydney.
They started their finals campaign in style, accounting for Hawthorn in the first qualifying final and earning a week's rest before taking on the Pies for a berth in the Grand Final.
What they're saying
The following story was published on AFL.com.au after Damien Hardwick's weekly press conference on Wednesday:
Dustin Martin is scheduled to train at "full throttle" on Wednesday after a 13-day battle with a corked thigh that bled down into his knee, Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says.
The Brownlow medallist will test out the injury in the Tigers' main session at Punt Road and is expected to line up against Collingwood on Friday night.
Hardwick said the Tigers had considered having the injury drained this week but the amount of blood inside his knee joint meant it wasn't necessary.
"It was a pretty significant corkie with bleeding down into his knee that takes a little bit of time to settle," Hardwick said before training.
"At this time of year, we don't take any risks with training, so he'll be available to play this weekend.
"We'll get a fair indication [today] whether he's 95 per cent or 100 per cent – not many players are 100 per cent these days at this stage of the year anyway.
"We're confident he'll be at his best, he's had a great finals series and we're looking forward to that continuing on Friday night."
Martin has been limited at training since suffering the injury against Hawthorn on September 6 in the first final.
Hardwick said he didn't expect the corkie to affect the time his star spent forward and in the midfield.
"The way Dustin's role pans out on game day is probably dependent on the opposition," he said.
"At various stages we'll need him on the ball and at various stages we'll need him up forward.
"The injury is not that significant that it will change his role.
"He's battled through these things before. We've had the week off, so we haven't been in any rush to get him out to train to make sure he plays, we'll just take a very conservative approach.
"The reality is, he's not going to get any fitter or stronger or better now, so all we've got to do is get him to the line and make sure he plays."
Dustin Martin tries to fend off Pies skipper Scott Pendlebury during the clash at the MCG in round 19 (AFL Photos)
Players to watch
Dustin Martin most certainly falls under this category, but so Shane Edwards, who was among the Tigers' best when they defeated the Pies in round 19.
Edwards has enjoyed a sensational season in the midfield and up forward, and he was recently selected in the All Australian team for the first time.
Last time: Round 19, 2018 at the MCG
Match report excerpt:
The Tigers are officially the kings of the MCG and deserved premiership favourites after outlasting a brave but battered Magpie outfit by 28 points on Saturday to claim the venue's consecutive wins record.
In a match that promised plenty and didn't disappoint, Richmond won its 18th straight game at the MCG, 16.9 (105) to 12.5 (77), to supersede Melbourne's record of 17 wins achieved back in the 1950s.
After leading by four points at three-quarter time, the Tigers – in similar circumstances to their round six win where they nailed eight goals to the Pies' three in the final term – kicked five to one to give the contest a one-sided fourth quarter it didn't deserve.
Collingwood's sour end to the game was made even worse when coach Nathan Buckley confirmed the club believed defender Matt Scharenberg had suffered his third ACL rupture.
The young defender was unsighted after a third-term incident where his left knee buckled beneath him.
In front of a sell-out crowd of 88,180 – the second-largest home-and-away crowd drawn by the two clubs – the occasion had a whiff of September about it as the top-ranked and third-placed team faced off in brilliant sunshine.
It was a mouth-watering preview to a blockbuster match up that could repeat itself in just over a month's time – a once the injury-hit Pies refurbish their line up.
Already without key midfielders Jordan De Goey and Adam Treloar, Nathan Buckley's men can only be described as gallant against the premiers.
After losing Jeremy Howe to concussion at the end of the first quarter, they had Brody Mihocek hobble through the second half with a sore ankle and strapped head, and Sam Murray was sore throughout the final term after copping a big hit.
RICHMOND 5.2 8.3 11.6 16.9 (105)
COLLINGWOOD 2.1 7.1 11.2 12.5 (77)
GOALS
Richmond: Martin 3, Riewoldt 3, Higgins 2, Short 2, Castagna 2, Caddy, Townsend, Edwards, Rioli
Collingwood: Thomas 4, Hoskin-Elliott 3, Cox 2, Daicos, Brown, Mihocek
BEST
Richmond: Astbury, Short, Broad, Edwards, Prestia, Rance, Riewoldt
Collingwood: Grundy, Pendlebury, Thomas, Greenwood, Adams, Moore
INJURIES
Richmond: Prestia (ribs)
Collingwood: Howe (concussion), Mihocek (ankle), Scharenberg (knee)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Margetts, Hosking, Findlay
Official crowd: 88,180 at the MCG
