Richmond defender Dylan Grimes is happy for the Tigers to be earning a reputation for toughness, having beaten the highly-fancied Hawthorn combination at its own game last Friday night.

Captain Trent Cotchin set the tone for a physical encounter against the Hawks before the opening bounce on Friday night and his teammates responded, beating the red-hot flag favourites by 18 points.

Grimes claimed the Tigers wanted to be known as a team that was "uncomfortable" to play against.

GALLERY: Richmond Training - August 4, 2015

He said that was how coach Damien Hardwick played his football during his career with Essendon and Port Adelaide – and how he wanted his team to play.

"It's been a part of our culture for a while now, and I really like the fact that it's uncomfortable playing against the Tigers," Grimes said.

"I like being known as that type of playing group and I know ‘Dimma’ (Hardwick) loves it as well – it's something he prides himself on."

Grimes declared that watching Cotchin initiate some argy-bargy with Hawks stars Luke Hodge and Sam Mitchell revved up his team.

"We love seeing our captain going up to their skipper before the game and showing everyone in the footy world that it's going to be an arm-wrestle for the next two hours," he said.

Richmond has now taken the scalps of Hawthorn and Sydney, and split results with ladder-leader Fremantle this year.

But Grimes, 24, was quick to point out they have also lost games they should have won, most notably in Round 4 against Melbourne.

"It's great to beat some really good teams, but we've shown in the past if we're not on 100 per cent, any side can beat any other.  So it's critical we bring our best game like we did on the weekend," he said.

"The top 10 spots are really up for grabs."

Grimes believes the most pleasing aspect of the victory over the Hawks is that they delivered a four-quarter performance, which had been missing for the past month of football.

That display has boosted the Tigers’ confidence, but Grimes knows they need to back it up against the Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.

"To do it against quality opposition always instils a lot of confidence in the playing group, and we've got a big challenge this weekend," Grimes said.

"Hopefully, that confidence, we can take it into the game, and play really well again."