Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says his side continues to be its own worst enemy after losing a game that “looked like a Richmond game”.
Poor accuracy in front of goal and an inability to keep the clamps on Melbourne’s powerful ruck duo after half-time left the Tigers vulnerable to a Demons comeback when they should have been well in front, Hardwick said.
“I thought we had chances at reasonably easy shots at goal, we just couldn’t quite nail those and take advantage on the scoreboard. From their set shots they kicked 9.5, we kicked 6.9,” he said.
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“We just couldn’t get any scoreboard pressure on … we always call it ‘Richmond hurting Richmond.
“It looked like a Richmond game … time in forward half, forward half turnovers, we just weren’t clean enough for long enough.”
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Hardwick said throwing Noah Balta into the ruck in a bid to combat a rampant Brodie Grundy in the final quarter may have opened the door for Jacob van Rooyen to break his way into the match with three late goals.
“I thought (Ben Miller and Samson Ryan) were gallant early, but then I thought Brodie Grundy was the difference maker in the end, I thought he just dominated that ruck battle and he had to make a change,” Hardwick said.
“I thought we were getting comprehensively beaten, so we had to move one piece of the puzzle in Noah into the ruck to try and compensate for that, and you know, we ummed and ahhed and then unfortunately they started taking marks at the other end.
“You got some young inexperienced rucks, I thought they were pretty good for the vast majority but when push came to shove their big dogs took over.”
The Richmond coach voiced some frustration at the performance of 22-year-old Noah Cumberland, who was dominant in the first term with 3.1 from four disposals before only managing three more touches for the match.
“He can be as good as he wants, that kid, but he’s got to get to work on some things in his game, and a lot of that has to do with Noah, how bad he wants it, and he’s working on that, he’ll get better,” Hardwick said.
“I was really happy with the vast majority of his game tonight. We sort of changed our structure a little bit to get him in, he’s just got to continue to play the game and realise the game will challenge him at various stages.
“His body language will get better, but we just love what he brings, his energy.”
Hardwick said Maurice Rioli Jr would be assessed for what appeared to be hamstring concern which forced him from the ground in the final quarter, but he said a “severe cramp” was possible rather than an injury.
— NCA NewsWire
