Richmond's AFL opposition have become their inspiration.

Essendon's spectacular rebound from being non-competitive to beating previously undefeated Geelong within a week has Tigers coach Damien Hardwick confident his side can do similar at the MCG on Saturday night.

They play Essendon, whom they hope will provide the blueprint for the Tigers to bounce back from a 103-point hammering by Carlton last weekend.

Hardwick admitted he had spoken to his players about how the Bombers had hit back from their embarrassing defeat to Hawthorn the previous week to produce the season's biggest upset.

"Essendon were probably in our same situation two weeks ago, and it's amazing when you put your mind to it, the steely resolve comes out," Hardwick said.

"Essendon's effort last week was amazing.

"We watched their intensity, the way they attacked the ball and the ball-carrier and it was something we spoke to our players about this week because it's something (in which) we've fallen down."

Bombers coach James Hird said he was not able to take much comfort from the fact Richmond were so comprehensively beaten last weekend.

"We didn't lose by 100 points but effectively we could have," he said of his side's defeat by Hawthorn the previous week.

"Richmond have had a very good year and they had a poor performance at the weekend but it doesn't mean you give your season away.

"Having come off a bit of a flogging the week before when we played Geelong we think we know what to expect from Richmond.

"We expect them to come out absolutely breathing fire and we will enjoy that because that's the sort of game we like to play."

Hardwick was true to his word following the Carlton defeat, binning the post-match team review as promised and encouraging all at the club to put it out of their minds.

Believing his players will respond, he described the mood at training this week as upbeat.

"The one thing I would say about our group is they're very vibrant," he said.

"You wouldn't know we've come off a resounding loss, and that's something we try to pride ourselves on.

"We try to take away the emotion of the ups and downs of our season.

"We understand where we're at, but we certainly know where we're going. There's going to be bumps along the way, and last week was one of those."

The Tigers have lost ruckman Andrew Browne with a hip injury, with Tyrone Vickery to shoulder the ruck load and key position duo Ben Griffiths and Jayden Post to pinch-hit.

Essendon have recalled pacy Ricky Dyson to replace injured veteran Andrew Welsh in their only change.

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