Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has urged fans not to boo Cats star Tom Stewart as he faces the Tigers for the first time since his sickening bump on Dion Prestia.
The Tigers (2-1-5, 95.7%) have struggled so far in season 2023 but welcome back veteran Trent Cotchin for Friday night’s blockbuster.
The Cats (5-3, 135.7%) are running hot off the back of a five-game winning streak, and will have a debutant in their side, Jhye Clark, to take on Richmond.
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The match is Stewart’s first against Richmond since his month-long ban for the hit that left Prestia concussed on the MCG turf last year.
But Hardwick says his side hold no grudges towards the Cats’ defender.
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“Tom Stewart is an incredible player, so all I’ll say is give him the respect he deserves,” he said.
“From our point of view what happened in the past is in the past and we move on.
“We’re happy to just hopefully give them a fierce contest and hopefully walk away with a win.
“The game is combative in nature, we understand that accidents will happen like it did last year. But we don’t hold any grudges, we just get on with it and play the game.”
This match gets underway at 7.20pm AEST from the MCG.
Watch it live on Fox Footy (channel 504) from 7pm AEST.
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