Tigers forward Jack Riewoldt instigated the move for he and his teammates to refuse to be interviewed by the network during its pre and post-match coverage of Saturday's clash against the Brisbane Lions at the MCG.

The boycott came in the wake of an on-air discussion between Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, North Melbourne counterpart and Triple M caller James Brayshaw and special comments man Danny Frawley, where they made derogatory comments about The Age's chief football reporter, Caroline Wilson, joking about holding her under water as part of a fundraiser for MND research.

Hardwick said on Friday that the Tigers stood by their decision.

"It was a club decision. We stand by that decision but we are looking forward to moving on this week," he said.

He said the Tigers would continue to "monitor" whether the ban extended into a second week but admitted "it has probably served its purpose".

The Tigers' immediate focus now is on the Lions, and launching what seems an improbable finals push. They resume having won four of their past five matches heading into last week's bye, and have been refreshed by a short break, which allowed Dustin Martin to visit his father in New Zealand.

"We have a pretty challenging block coming up ... the big one for us is to remain focused on the opposition at hand," Hardwick said.

The Tigers will hope Martin can maintain his superb form of the past month, having at least 30 disposals in three of his past four matches, including two of 38.

He faces a potentially rugged afternoon, for Lions' stopper Mitch Robinson, who has quelled the likes of Sam Mitchell, Bryce Gibbs and Matt Priddis, is likely to be his opponent.

Martin has leapt into equal fifth with Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell among Brownlow Medal betting.

"It's going to be a challenge for 'Dusty' but he's risen to the challenge before and we've put it firmly on him to make sure he beats Mitch Robinson," Hardwick said.

"Robinson's been outstanding in nullifying some great opponents over the last three weeks and managing to get a lot of the ball himself.

"He had a fantastic game opposed to Matt Priddis last week and probably got three Brownlow votes.

"We're looking forward to Dusty rising to the challenge against Mitch in what will be a tough encounter."

The Tigers have averaged the second-most marks inside 50 since round eight, and will look to Riewoldt, Ty Vickery and Ben Griffiths to continue to have an impact in what shapes as wet conditions.

The Lions have only the one win this season – against Gold Coast in round four – and will be without key midfielder Dayne Zorko because of personal reasons.

"They played better last week. I went up and watched that game against West Coast and they controlled the ball pretty well," Hardwick said.

"We saw some instances where they probably went sideways a little bit too much but I think they'll address that this week.

"They're a side that is on the up. They've got some young players, some exciting players, and we've got to make sure we come focused to play."