Melbourne are playing champagne football and defying the doubters along the way, but Richmond will be aiming to spoil the party in Sunday's clash at the MCG.
The Demons (10-6) have defied the pre-season doom-and-gloom predictions to be sitting pretty heading into round 18, with their exciting brand of football under first-year coach Steven King catching the eye of fans.
Melbourne have barely felt the loss of stars Christian Petracca (Gold Coast), Clayton Oliver (GWS) and Steven May (retired), with the team's hot form giving them a very real chance to qualify for the finals.
The Demons showcased their attacking best in last week's 35-point win over Hawthorn when they opened up a 111-15 lead by midway through the third quarter.
In contrast, Richmond (2-14) have struggled to field a full squad at times this season because of a debilitating injury crisis that resulted in the departure of high-performance boss Ben Serpell this week.
The Tigers face a battle to avoid the wooden spoon, and have set their sights on hurting the finals ambitions of teams above them.
"At this time of the year we don't have the carrot of finals, but what we can do is sort of upset the teams that are trying to get into the top four or the top six and all the wildcard rounds," Tigers coach Adem Yze said.
"So that's what we'll be planning. Hopefully we can spoil their (Melbourne's) party."
WHAT THE ED? 🤯 Back-to-back goals to start in Tassie, including this ripper from Langdon. #DemonSpirit | #AFLHawksDees pic.twitter.com/BhT8juyyT4
— Melbourne Demons (@melbournefc) July 4, 2026
The Demons took their foot off the pedal in the last quarter and a half against Hawthorn last week, but Yze is preparing for Melbourne at their best.
"We know what's coming. They're in really good form, and it's a great opportunity for our young side," Yze said.
Richmond spearhead Tom Lynch kicked one behind and two out on the full in his goalless, eight-disposal effort in last week's two-point loss to Carlton.
It was Lynch's first game back from a fractured larynx, and Yze is backing the 33-year-old to build strongly over the coming weeks.
"That's the hardest thing," Yze said of hitting top form straight after injury.
"We're so anxious and so impatient that we feel our players can just walk in and just hit top form straight away.
"AFL footy is hard to do, hard to play, and to get into form can take time.
"He is just an amazing magnet to have available for not only the coaching staff but also our players.
"They play bigger, they play tougher around him when he's out there."
Richmond have named goalsneak Zane Peucker for his AFL debut, while Dion Prestia returns from a hamstring injury.
