Richmond's match with Melbourne this Sunday suddenly means a lot more than a forgettable fixture between two AFL easybeats.

The Tigers and Demons were the league's two bottom sides last year but their impressive progress over the last few weeks has made them teams to watch.

After losing their opening nine matches under new coach Damien Hardwick, Richmond have won six of the last nine.

Melbourne have won three of the last four matches and are 10th, just one and a half games outside the top eight with four rounds left.

Asked if Richmond versus Melbourne might be the league's next great rivalry, Hardwick replied: "It would be nice if it was - Melbourne are going to be a very, very good side, come the future, and they're starting to progress really well.

"We've gone along similar guidelines, with drafting through youth and starting to play those players.

"They're one of the form teams of the competition at the moment, it will be a big challenge for us."

Hardwick also noted that the Demons had changed their game style during this season, with a great focus now on kicking over handball.

"Earlier in the year, they were very much a handball-happy side," he said.

"They were No.1 for handballs, now they're 14th over the last four to five weeks.

"They're kicking the ball a lot more, as are most sides ... so they're going along the way the game is progressing."

Hardwick again paid tribute to first-year star Dustin Martin, who would be an unbackable favourite for the Rising Star Award had he not been ruled ineligible after being reported this year, even though an early guilty plea meant he didn't miss any games.

"You'd probably struggle to find, from my point of view, a guy I've dealt with, to see a better first season," Hardwick said.

The Tigers coach is unconcerned that Martin cannot win the Rising Star, saying team success was much more important.

At the other end of the experience scale, Ben Cousins will know at the end of the season whether the Tigers will let him play on for one more year.

Cousins also is making a documentary about his well-publicised personal troubles, with a drug addiction ending his time at West Coast.

"I've heard it's very confronting, but the thing about the documentary is if one person learns one thing from it, I reckon it will be a documentary well worth doing," Hardwick said.

"It's something that at some stage we'd like to show our playing group.

"You've got to heed its message - drugs within our society, it's a very confronting thing, I have young kids myself."

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