The baggage attached to finishing ninth will be a small price to pay if it means Richmond can complete an up-and-down season on a winning note, according to Tigers midfielder Brett Deledio.
The Tigers will almost certainly claim ninth place on the AFL ladder - and the unwanted tag as the best side outside the eight - for the seventh time since 1994 if they beat North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium in Sunday's final home and away match for 2011.
But Deledio - for whom the match will be his 150th in yellow and black - is unconcerned.
The priority for the Tigers, who are coming off wins over Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, he said, is to finish the year with four in a row.
"I'm not too fussed about the ninth finish," said Deledio at Punt Road on Tuesday.
"In terms of ninth spot, unless you're inside the eight, you don't tend to look at the ladder too much."
"We started off the year pretty well then we had a bit of a lull but we've finished off the year pretty well."
"The best thing is we've got a lot of experience into our young players."
Deledio said he was looking forward to his milestone which will earn him life membership at Richmond.
"It's a great honour ... and something I'm very proud of, but it's a game that we need to win," he said.
"We're just trying to get wins on the board to give ourselves some momentum going forward."
"We are tracking along nicely but there's still plenty of areas for improvement."