North captain Andrew Swallow expects Richmond to enter Saturday’s clash with an aggressive mindset, without overstepping the mark.

The Roos' skipper was on the receiving end of a left forearm to the head by Luke Hodge last Saturday night, which resulted in a three-week suspension.

Swallow said he believes the Tigers will attack the contest in a fierce but fair manner.

"On the weekend against Hawthorn, they were trying to be the aggressors and that’s fine, that’s part of footy," Swallow told NMFC.com.au on Friday.

"Richmond will come out and try and attack us with the way they play the game more than anything.

"When they play on their terms, they’re actually a really dangerous team."

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Swallow said North is well aware of the threat the Tigers’ midfield poses but believes his team can curtail their influence.

"They’ve got a lot of depth through their midfield, even a young guy like (Anthony) Miles can come up and play through there," he said.

"We’re still missing (Daniel) Wells and (Nick) Dal Santo from the team, but to be able to have Ben Cunnington, Jack Ziebell, Ryan Bastinac still running … we’ve still got quite a bit of depth in there."

Another key area of focus is Richmond’s ability to generate forward thrusts from the back half of the ground.

"They’ve got some really dangerous players in (Bachar) Houli, (Brett) Deledio’s back, (Dustin) Martin, (Trent) Cotchin and (Alex) Rance who can really give them some run and drive, so we’ve really got be careful of that," Swallow said.

When both teams last met in round 12 last season, North secured a come-from-behind 28-point victory over the Tigers.

The Roos trailed by 35 points at half-time before registering eight third-quarter goals in the space of 19 minutes to set up the win.

Swallow said the group will take added belief from that performance and their most recent NAB Challenge meeting.

"Games these days are ebb and flow and you’re going to have ups and downs but it’s just more about what did we do right in the second half that we can take into this game," he said.

"We played them in the pre-season and had a really good hit-out; I got a lot of confidence out of that hit-out."

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Both North and Richmond have a 2-3 win-loss record heading into round six, with both teams eager to square the ledger.

A near capacity Blunstone Arena will play host to the blockbuster clash. 

"The boys enjoy playing down there and we’re looking forward to seeing the new facilities and grandstand," Swallow said.

"You don’t want to be 2-4, but it’s still early on in the season."

Swallow said North’s home away from home in Hobart provides a great atmosphere, with a big crowd of royal blue and white expected. 

"Most of our guys have played there for three years now, we feel really comfortable down there and that’s why we like going down there," he said.

Despite the club's less than ideal start to the season, Swallow said he is pleased with how North is tracking.

"Round one was bitterly disappointing but apart from that, we’ve been pretty competitive in every other game we’ve played," he said.

"I’ve been fairly happy with the group; we’ve been tested with injuries and had guys come in and stand up.

"Although I’d love to be sitting here at 4-1 or 5-0, if we can get a couple of wins over the next couple of weeks and lock them away, then we’re still a chance to go where we want this year."