Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley expects Richmond to be motivated greatly by the loss of Alex Rance.
The star defender was cut down by a ruptured ACL in the season opener against Carlton last Thursday night and is likely to miss the remainder of the 2019 season.
Many believe the premiership hopes of the Tigers have faded dramatically in the wake of the injury but Buckley only sees it strengthening the resolve of Damien Hardwick's men ahead of the Round 2 clash between the two clubs.
“It’s going to challenge the Tigers, no doubt, but they really do seemingly have a strong defensive mechanism,” Buckley said on SEN’s Whateley.
“The individual that comes in will not replace Alex Rance but he’ll be asked to play his role.
“They will be harder to scout for.
“Rance was always a player that you had to consider with your strategies and your front half but they’ve still got some pretty good players back there that we’ll be considering.
“If you are a Richmond club member, player or supporter, you’d feel like you are going to be worse off because he’s a superstar of the competition.
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“But the other thing that can happen and does happen is it galvanises the group and you’ve already seen that. Richmond’s chemistry and feel and connection is really strong.
“They are clearly going to support him and be galvanised by it.”
Collingwood were without a number of key players in 2018, including Adam Treloar, Tyson Goldsack, Lynden Dunn, Darcy Moore, Daniel Wells and Jamie Elliott, but still managed to play off in the Grand Final.
Buckley’s Magpies, who face off against Richmond at the MCG on Thursday night, lost to Geelong by seven points in their season opener while the Tigers beat the Blues by 33.
Listen to Buckley on Whateley below:
