Premiership defender David Astbury says his club are not worried for their prospects of going back-to-back this season despite a disappointing performance against their 2017 Grand Final opponents Adelaide last week.
The Crows soundly accounted for the reigning premiers by 36 points at Adelaide Oval in Round 2, smashing Richmond in contested possessions by 48, a massive swing of 78 from their defeat at the MCG last September.
However Astbury says that there is no need for Richmond fans to panic over a dreaded premiership hangover just yet, despite the club's much-hyped pressure being down last Thursday.
“They taught us a lesson around the footy as has been well-documented in the industry. We will take a lot of learnings out of that,” he told SEN’s Time On with Sam McClure.
“If nothing else, you have got to give respect to an opposition like that because they just outperformed us. We were a bit off and you can’t afford to be against teams like that. It’s not easy to go over to Adelaide Oval and play either of those South Australian teams nowadays.
“At the end of the day we have just got to pick up and move on. Hawthorn is our focus for this weekend.”
One potential inclusion for the Tigers against the Hawks this Sunday is inside midfielder Dion Prestia, who is on the brink of a return from a hamstring injury.
Astbury says the former Gold Coast on-baller will be close to making his first appearance of 2018 this weekend.
“He looks like he will be thereabouts,” the key defender said.
“I’m not sure if he has to tick anymore boxes from the medical department to get through.
“He is obviously someone we are missing at the moment. His finals campaign suggests that he is the sort of player that we need to have on the park.
“I am sure he is not too far away, whether it is this week or next. We’re very much looking forward to having him back.”
Catch all the action of Richmond v Hawthorn this Sunday on SEN at 12 PM, led by Gerard Whateley, Kevin Bartlett, Danny Frawley and Adam Cooney.
Listen to the best bits of today's Time On with Sam McClure below: