IF YOU looked at the draw a month ago, the Tigers’ trip to the Gabba on Saturday night looked like four certain premiership points for the Brisbane Lions - but not now.

Richmond were horrendous in the first nine weeks but the Tigers have turned their season around with wins against Port Adelaide and West Coast.

On the other side, the Lions have suffered a myriad of injuries and have won just one of their past eight matches.

The news that Jonathan Brown is out for a month with a groin injury is a further blow to Michael Voss’ men. He joins a list that includes Josh Drummond, Ashley McGrath, Jed Adcock and Matt Maguire among others.

For the Tigers, full-forward Jack Riewoldt has sparked their season. He has been on fire of late and his bag of 10 against the Eagles on Sunday was not only a match-winning effort but the best haul by anyone in the league in three seasons.

The Lions have beaten Richmond just once in their past six matches. Saturday night will also be full forward Brendan Fevola’s 200th game.

Forward scout: Richmond

2010 to date
What started out as an absolutely disastrous season has slowly started gathering momentum. The Tigers lost their first nine matches - including six of their first seven by more than 50 points - but have turned it around. They beat Port Adelaide in horrendous conditions, were then competitive despite losing against St Kilda, and grabbed win number two on Sunday with a 49-point thumping of West Coast.

The coach
After years as an assistant coach and unsuccessful applications with Essendon and Melbourne, Damien Hardwick now has his chance with the Tigers. With arguably the most difficult task in the league, Richmond has already shown signs of improvement under Hardwick. As a player the hard-nosed Hardwick was coached by Kevin Sheedy and Mark Williams and after being an assistant to Alastair Clarkson, he has had some of the best men in the business to learn from.

The gun
After being taken at No.1 in the 2004 NAB AFL Draft, Brett Deledio has quietly gone from strength to strength as a player. While the top pick is always heavily scrutinised, Deledio won the Rising Star in 2005 before suffering from some inconsistency the following seasons. But with back-to-back club best and fairests next to his name, that is no longer a problem for the 23-year-old. Deledio can win the hard ball but does his best work running free and delivering into the forward line.

The sleeper
For the early part of his career, Jack Riewoldt has lived in the shadow of his cousin Nick, but no longer. The full-forward continued his rise to prominence with a stunning bag of 10 goals against the Eagles on Sunday - the first man since Lions captain Jonathan Brown against Carlton in 2007 to rack up double figures. At 193cm, Riewoldt is strong overhead but just as good when the ball comes to ground. He has 30 goals in his past five games and will be a tough match-up for Lion Daniel Merrett.

The bolter
One of this season’s surprise packets for Richmond has been running half-forward Ben Nason. He was taken at No.71 in the 2009 NAB AFL Draft but has played all 12 games to date. While his blonde dreadlocks caught the attention first-up, it’s his play that has been doing the talking lately. Nason can be a bit erratic with his disposal but is quick and has a go. Interestingly he has kicked a season-high three goals in both Richmond’s wins

Strengths
As the season has gone on?the Tigers have slowly developed a fast-moving, modern brand of football. A midfield with Ben Cousins, Trent Cotchin, Deledio, Richard Tambling and Nason gives the Tigers some genuine speed, which has troubled the Lions this season - the prime example against Melbourne in Round 5. Throw in white-hot Riewoldt up front and the Tigers have a dangerous attacking mix.

Weaknesses
For all its improvement in the past month, Richmond still leaks a lot of points. In eight of their 12 matches this season the Tigers’ defence has coughed up more than 110 points. While Brendan Fevola will not have his sidekick Jonathan Brown up front, it may just be the game the former Blue needs to crack it for his first big bag. The performance of the spluttering Lions attack against the leaky Tigers defence may well decide who walks away with the premiership points.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.