Richmond players have been accused of “not having their head in the game” in a final quarter blitz that saw them sink to a 44-point loss to the Swans on Friday night.
Richmond have recorded their second worst start to a season in more than a decade – and their worst opening five rounds since 2016 where they sunk to 1-6 before registering just eight wins for the year.
Disappointingly, the Tigers were in the match until the 20-minute mark of the final quarter when the Swans put their foot down to kick the last five goals of the match – and seven of the last eight.
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Fox Footy’s Jonathan Brown said Richmond’s inability to stay in a contest was a worrying trend for coach Damien Hardwick.
“Story of the year for them – we’ve seen it all year. They had the game here against the Adelaide Crows – which is their only win – where they kicked seven or eight goals in a quarter and had eight goals kicked against them the quarter before that,” Brown lamented.
“It’s a real problem for them.”
Fellow analyst Jordan Lewis questioned if Richmond players had remained focused in the final term – especially after vision showed Braeden Campbell was able to goal from long range with no one attempting to man the mark to open up a 19-point lead.
“I don’t think we’ve seen Richmond blown out of the water for a long time in the last quarter especially,” he said.
“It was just about the moments and unfortunately the leaders for the Richmond Football Club just didn’t stand up when needed.
“Coming into the last quarter you say … are the players’ head in the game? Do they concentrate on the little things that will bring them back into the game or stop the opposition from scoring? I see that (manning the mark) as a really important thing to do.
“It’s a fundamental. You think players should get it.
“That tells me players’ heads aren’t in the game.”
Not only was the players’ mentality questioned, but also the discipline of the senior stars.
A number of experienced players, including Kamdyn McIntosh, Shai Bolton and Tim Taranto, coughed up costly 50m penalties in the second half when the Tigers tried to close Sydney’s almost six-goal margin.
“Four 50-metre penalties in the second half against Richmond senior players – that’s unacceptable,” Brown said.
“64 inside 50s, you can’t keep giving up 60-plus inside 50s every week.
“It doesn’t help when you give up easy goals – Noah Balta had a shocker.”
Buckley said Richmond’s experienced players “didn’t really stand up”, after Trent Cotchin was subbed out of the match during the third term.
“Balta, Pickett, Taranto, McIntosh – they’re players that have played a lot of footy and at times their undisciplined play actually stopped their momentum,” he said.
“That is something Dimma (Hardwick) has to address.
“You still want to get the most out of your senior players.
“It was the experienced players of Richmond that seemed to let the grip go a little bit. They need to be setting the example.”
Hardwick conceded it was a “frustrating” night at Adelaide Oval.
“We let ourselves down,” he said of the ill-discipline.
“They are just easy goals you can’t defend against (from 50m penalties).
“We’re just not executing our offence well enough.”
The Tigers went into the match without the likes of Tom Lynch, Toby Nankervis, Josh Gibcus, Jayden Short, Robbie Tarrant and Jack Graham but regained Dustin Martin (17 disposals, zero tackles and 0.1) and Jacob Hopper (32 touches, five tackles and five clearances).
