Richmond will prepare for a tough encounter on Sunday, as GWS looks to bid its coach, Kevin Sheedy, a fitting farewell in his last game at Skoda Stadium.

After a disappointing fadeout against Carlton last week, the Tigers’ coach, Damien Hardwick, is anticipating a strong response from his side.

“We are obviously disappointed with our game last week . . . we didn’t play with the intensity we would have liked,” Hardwick said.

“But we’re in a situation where we’ve got bigger fish to fry in GWS this week. So we get back on track, we address a few things, we practise in the next couple of training sessions, and get our game back up and going.”

Hardwick linked the form slump against the Blues to his playing group’s mentality, rather than physicality, but is optimistic the same won’t happen against GWS.

“Mentally, the guys have got to be switched on, and that was the reason we didn’t play well last week – we weren’t switched on, defensively,” Hardwick said.

“It has nothing to do with our physical approach, it was more our mental state. So we have to be stronger.”

Having played during Sheedy’s reign at Essendon, Hardwick is aware that this game will be a momentous occasion for the legendary coach and his young side.

“’Sheeds’ has been a fantastic contributor, not only to GWS, but the AFL in general,” Hardwick said.

“Their last home game, they’ll certainly build it up. I think the last time they had a milestone game, they got over the top.

“Sheeds will certainly get them fired up, like he did when I used to play for him. It will be a good game.”