Where and when: MCG, Saturday July 24, 2.10pm
Head to head: Collingwood 111 wins, Richmond 84 wins, one draw
Last time: Collingwood 22.20 (152) d Richmond 8.11 (59), round 20, 2009 at the MCG

Richmond and Collingwood traded the first four goals of the game before it was all one-way traffic. The Pies led by 37 points at the first change and a whopping 70 at half time. The Tigers lost their cool, with Jake King finding himself in the book for a strike to Alan Didak and that leading to an all-in melee before the long break. Mick Malthouse’s side did lead by as much as 107 early in the last quarter before the Tigers, in what was Joel Bowden’s final match, made the scoreboard slightly more respectable.

MISSING IN ACTION
Richmond
Trent Cotchin (suspension) - 4 weeks
Matt Dea (foot) - indefinite
Nathan Foley (leg) - season
Ben Griffiths (shoulder) - season
Tom Hislop (patella) - indefinite
Jordan McMahon (ankle) - 1-2 weeks
Ben Nason (soreness) - test
Adam Thompson (groin) - season
Will Thursfield (concussion) - test

LAST WEEK
Richmond 7.11 (53) def by North Melbourne 15.13 (103) at the MCG
The Tigers seemed to be matching the Kangas until early in the second term. Trent Cotchin’s late hit on Sam Wright landed the Tiger in the book and fired up Brad Scott’s men. North led by 14 points at half time, and 5.3 to 0.1 in the third term put the result beyond doubt. Ben Cousins and Daniel Connors won plenty of footy for Richmond while Brett Deledio and Kelvin Moore were solid in defence, but the Tigers were outplayed in the greasy conditions by a harder, more ferocious opponent.

Leading goalkicker - Jack Riewoldt (61)
Leading ballwinner - Brett Deledio (418)

DANGER MAN
The obvious candidate here is Jack Riewoldt. He hasn’t booted less than three goals in any one match since round seven, proving a formidable one-on-one match-up. The Pies aren’t likely to allow him so much isolation on Saturday, but if he does get some space he’ll prove a tough match-up for Simon Prestigiacomo or whoever stands him.

HOW’S STAT?
In last year’s 93-point mauling, Collingwood more than doubled Richmond in inside 50s. The Pies won that stat 67-33, as well as having 118 more disposals.

WHAT’S AT STAKE
For the Tigers, a whole lot of pride. After last year’s debacle against Collingwood, they’ll be looking to win back some respect. With the top four tighter than ever before, the Pies know another four points is vital in locking in a home final.

WHAT THE OPPOSITION SAYS
“It’s a massive challenge anytime playing Collingwood - they’re a great side and they’re in terrific form sitting on top of the ladder. So it’s a great challenge for our young group and we’re looking forward to it ... for every player that we put out there, it’s going to be a good challenge for them.” - Richmond coach Damien Hardwick on his team’s upcoming match

WHAT THE PIES SAY
“We’ve definitely improved. I think the depth shows that we’ve improved. [We’ve got] younger players coming through [like] Beams, Sidebottom, Wellingham, Ben Reid who are all playing good footy. So it’s really healthy ... hopefully there’s more improvement to come at the right end of the year.” - Collingwood utility Leigh Brown on his side’s progression in 2010

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club