Richmond will welcome back two premiership stars for its massive top-of-the-table clash with the Sydney Swans at Etihad Stadium on Thursday night.

Versatile midfielder Dion Prestia will return from a calf injury that has sidelined him since Round 7, while tall defender David Astbury will return from an ankle injury he suffered in Round 12.

Prestia can be used as a tagging midfielder or hard-nosed on-baller and collected 27 touches and a goal in the Tigers’ 2017 grand final triumph, while Astbury is a key defender who offers strong support for star backman Alex Rance.

Rebounding defender Bachar Houli (groin) hasn’t played since Round 10 and won’t face the Swans, but Sydney’s forward line is sure to have its hands full with Rance on deck.

The one-on-one battle between Rance and star Sydney forward Lance Franklin promises to have a massive bearing on the outcome of the game.

Four-time All-Australian Rance is tasked with containing the best key forwards every game, while seven-time All-Australian Franklin is the ninth-greatest goal-kicker in history (891).

But Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said Rance wouldn’t just be assigned to shutting down Franklin, who is set to play his 100^th game in Swans colours.

“Alex plays full-back, Lance probably plays a traditional full-forward role, so we’re going to see a one-on-one contest at various stages, but Alex will play on whoever’s down there,” Hardwick said.

“Luke Parker will be deep at various stages as well.

“We look forward to that challenge and Alex and Lance are two great players. It’s worth the price of admission to come and see those players.”

While Franklin goes toe-to-toe with Rance at one end of the Docklands venue, one of Sydney’s Heath Grundy or Dane Rampe will be locked in a mouth-watering duel with key Richmond forward Jack Riewoldt.

The 567-goal champion has booted 30 majors this year to be running fifth in the race for the Coleman Medal.

He is strong on the lead and overhead, lively at ground level, deadly accurate from set shots and on the run and one of the fiercest competitors in the AFL.

The likes of reigning Brownlow Medallist Dustin Martin, skipper Trent Cotchin and star on-baller Kane Lambert will buoy the Tigers’ midfield, while former Swan Toby Nankervis will do battle with Callum Sinclair in the ruck.

The intensity the likes of Martin and Cotchin apply is the cornerstone of Richmond’s game.

They lead the way at the coalface of the contest as the Tigers strangle the life out of the opposition through ferocious attack on the football and manic tackling pressure.

This often sees the Tigers bring the opposition undone on turnovers as their best two-way runners press forward and drive the ball inside 50 for the likes of Riewoldt and nippy small forwards Daniel Rioli and Jason Castagna.

The first-placed Tigers held a 9-4 record ahead of Round 15, 2017 and this year have won 10 games and lost three ahead of the Round 15 opener.

The Swans and Tigers both enjoyed a bye in Round 14 and Richmond clinched an 18-point victory over Geelong at the MCG in its most recent outing.

Hardwick said the bye had recharged the batteries of his chargers.

“It’s a freshener for the players first and foremost but the coaches as well, so then you can reset yourself for the back end of the year,” Hardwick said.

“So the bye certainly came at a good time for us. I think we had played 13 games in a row.

The season is very tough but we are looking forward to the back end of the season and the jostling for positions will really start from here on in." 

Sydney and Richmond have met on 194 occasions in VFL/AFL history and the Tigers hold the upper hand.

They have won 106 games to the Swans’ 87 and the two clubs have played out two draws.

But the last 10 matches between Sydney and Richmond are split down the middle and the Swans have won the last two.

The Swans banked a hard-fought nine-point win at the MCG in Round 13, 2017 when the two clubs last met, while they haven’t faced each other at Etihad Stadium since Round 7, 2006.