For North Melbourne’s defenders, the ability to play in multiple situations will be critical on Sunday.

Richmond’s forward line features both dangerous key-position forwards as well as mid-sized players more than capable of holding their own at ground level.

In the absence of Ben Griffiths due to injury since Round 17, the Tigers have largely played with only two genuine tall forwards – Jack Riewoldt and Ty Vickery.

Although there was a brief experiment with Shaun Hampson around this period (four games between Round 15-19) as another ruckman, which allowed Maric to spend some more time forward, it appears to have been shelved.

Operating under the assumption Scott Thompson comes straight back into the side after missing last week, he and Robbie Tarrant are likely to have the responsibility of neutralising Riewoldt and Vickery.

Although Riewoldt is regarded as the clear and undisputed number one of the Tigers’ forward line, in recent weeks Vickery has been almost on a level pegging in terms of importance.

Richmond’s inside 50 targets in the last six weeks reveal little difference between Riewoldt (50 times) and Vickery (40). The latter’s increased role has been reflected on the scoreboard with 17 goals, the most at the club.

The duo were both influential in the last quarter of Round 23 as Richmond ran away from North. Vickery kicked three goals and Riewoldt two, more than half the team’s nine majors in the term.

Of equal importance to Richmond’s scoreboard pressure is Brett Deledio and Dustin Martin.

Deledio has spent more time closer to goal in 2015 than previous seasons. Almost a quarter of his disposals have been in the forward 50, easily a career-high. His ability both overhead and at ground level makes him an extremely tough matchup.

Complicating matters is Deledio’s ability to roam through the midfield if matched up against a small defender, giving the Tigers an extra rotation through the centre and also throwing out the opposition’s usual expected matchups.

Richmond has come to rely heavily on Deledio, which has been reflected in its win-loss record. Overall the Tigers are 15-7 in 2015. However they’re 1-4 when the 28-year-old doesn’t take the fields, including losses to non-finalists Melbourne and Geelong.

Meanwhile Martin has turned in several good performances against the Kangaroos in recent times. Last week he collected 21 disposals and kicked three goals, while earlier in the season he had 30 disposals. In 2014 he had 28 disposals and kicked four goals.

Along the same lines as Deledio, Martin is a tough matchup. Because he spends the majority of his time in the midfield – 77 per cent of his disposals coming between the 50 metre arcs – and then rolls forward, the question of who to place on him is a tricky one.

The quartet of Riewoldt, Vickery, Deledio and Martin is where the majority of Richmond’s scoring power will likely come from. Last Friday night they combined for nine goals and six assists out of the club total of 16.

It looms as a tough day at the office for the Roos' defenders.

North Melbourne will hold an open training session this Saturday (September 12, 2015) at Arden Street from 11.15am-12.00pm.