ASSISTANT coach Ben Mathews says Richmond is far from a “two-trick pony” in the midfield, with several Tigers capable of getting under the guard of opposition teams.

Speaking in the lead-up to Melbourne’s Anzac Day Eve clash against Richmond at the MCG, Mathews acknowledged Dustin Martin and Trent Cotchin had to be kept in close check, but added that the Tigers had a host of midfielders in strong form.  

“They’ve got other players who can step-up. Shaun Grigg, Reece Conca, Kane Lambert are all playing very good football, so they’ve got a lot of guys who can play big games well,” he told Melbourne Media.

“Martin’s a Brownlow Medal winner and a genuine superstar. But they’ve got another Brownlow Medal winner in Trent Cotchin. I think Cotchin’s playing as well as Martin.

“Dusty has a uniqueness that he might do the centre bounce and then drift forward and play full-forward for long periods of the game, whereas you know Cotchin’s generally going to be around the midfield area.”

Mathews, the club’s stoppage and contest coach, said the team was considering several options for Martin and Cotchin.

“It’s sometimes difficult to plan for a Dusty Martin, in terms of where he’ll be, because he’ll change it up, depending on what’s best for his team. Whereas Cotchin is generally inside and he’s hunting the footy,” he said.

“We’ll look at our options, in terms of if we go with someone. Nathan Jones did a super job last week on Tom Mitchell and limited his influence. But like most teams, the Hawks were able to step-up with other players.

“This is a great opportunity for our young team to step-up in another big. Angus Brayshaw has been building his game, Tyson was good before missing through illness last week, and we’ve got a nucleus of a young midfield group this year with [Christian] Salem, [Clayton] Oliver and [Christian] Petracca.

“It’s a great opportunity for our young lads. And we’re really appreciative of being given the opportunity to play on such a big occasion and honouring the Anzacs.”

Mathews said the review of last Sunday’s loss to Hawthorn at the MCG had been rigorous. 

“Hawthorn played really well. They were right up for the pressure game and their tackling was immense – they had well over 100 tackles,” he said.

“We didn’t bring that pressure to that level, so that’s one real focus area, and it’ll need to be right on against Richmond. That’s a real strength of theirs.

“When Richmond got on their run last year, which has continued this year, they’ve pressured oppositions into mistakes and turnovers. They make you feel as though you’re playing in a shoe-box and in a confined space. That’s also a real strength of Richmond.

“We mightn’t have handled it as well as we would’ve liked last week, but we’re looking to bounce back in that area, and we think it’s a strong point of our game. We want to get back to that really quickly.”

Mathews said Richmond hadn’t missed a beat since winning last year’s premiership, aside from one loss to the Crows in Adelaide.

“That’s no disgrace either, because Adelaide played in last year’s Grand Final,” he said.

“It’s a great opportunity to test ourselves and our game style, and our personnel against the best team in the competition.”

“We look forward to it.”