Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has expressed considerable respect for Collingwood, who the Tigers will face in a crucial Round 7 clash at the MCG on Sunday.

The Magpies are in third position on the league ladder after six rounds, with four wins and two losses.

“They’ve been very good . . . there’s some things that they do really well,” Hardwick said.

“They’re defending really well and they’ve got some really good targets up inside 50. 

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“People talk about (Travis) Cloke, but Jamie Elliott’s had an outstanding season and he’s a really important player to them.

“And, what they do, is they spread the load really well.  They’ve got some guys that can run through the midfield and spread that. 

“It’s not necessarily Pendlebury and Swan that are doing all the damage.  They’ve got some good young players coming through there as well. 

“But we think this is a really winnable game . . .”