IF RICHMOND was worried about the hype before last week's opening-round match against Carlton, it seems it has little to worry about this week.

It’s as if someone emptied the well of expectations after the 44-point loss to the Blues. All the talk of the Tigers aiming for their first finals appearance in a decade is gone.

Richmond midfielder Nathan Foley faced a desultory half-dozen journalists at Wednesday's press conference at Victoria Park.

A gentle breeze floated past the old grandstands as he batted back a few questions about last week's loss and this Saturday night's game against another premiership chance in Collingwood, again at the MCG.

"It was a disappointing result against Carlton," he said. "We didn't get to play the game on our terms at all, with the exception of a patch in the third quarter.

"It'll be good to get out there on Saturday night and try to put in place what we want to do."

The Tigers this week welcome back Jake King from suspension. And apart from three on the long-term injury list — Kelvin Moore (hip), David Astbury (knee) and Brad Helbig (foot) — they have a full list to choose from.

Foley said he and his teammates had been hugely impressed with Scott Pendlebury's game at the weekend. Pendlebury dragged Collingwood within sight of victory before Hawthorn surged to win by 22 points.

"He was sensational," Foley said. "In the air, on the ground, he was just winning the footy. He's one of the elite players in the comp."

But the Richmond midfielder was unable to shed any light on who might be assigned to counter the Collingwood star.

"Gone are the days of the complete lockdown roles. You need everyone playing a form of team defence and playing offensively as well," he said.

Foley added that unspecified measures would be in place to curb power forwards Travis Cloke and Chris Dawes. And the ploy of playing Jack Riewoldt upfield was working well.

But given the restraints of these affairs there was little else to say. Only if the Tigers knock off the Pies will the urgency over Richmond's season return.

Nathan Foley is a $414,600 midfielder in Toyota AFL Dream Team. Register your team here

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL