Tigers outplayed, but not outworked
7:41 PM Sun 22 July, 2007
By Jason Phelan
for richmondfc.com.au
TERRY Wallace has praised the effort of his players but lamented their poor decision-making and skill errors after the Tigers slipped to a 55-point loss to Port Adelaide on Sunday.
“I didn’t think the effort to win [the ball] was that bad, but certainly the ability to hang onto it from that stage was the thing that we saw as the clear difference between the two sides,” Wallace said after the match.
“The skill level of the opposition was far too great, whether it was their goalkicking – I think they ended up with 15.1 from set shots – or our turnover rate. They actually got 15 goals directly from our turnovers and that hurts you in any game of footy.
“From an effort point of view I didn’t think that there was anything wrong with it. I think [our players] showed in the first quarter when Port Adelaide jumped out and kicked the first three or four goals that they were really determined to step back.
“The other clear difference between the two sides was their very, very best players played terrific and we didn’t get the same result out of our best players.”
The result was not what champion spearhead Matthew Richardson would have hoped for in his 250th match, but Wallace said it was unfair to link the milestone to the disappointing performance.
“I didn’t think there was any lack of respect for Matthew,” Wallace said.
“You’re not thinking about respect when you turn the ball over, or you’re running 60m out from goal and you miss a target. I don’t think that’s got anything to do with the respect factor.”
Wallace was disappointed his side had failed to reward fans in the past fortnight, but vowed to fight out the season, starting with next week’s trip to Sydney.
“It’s been disappointing in the last couple of weeks that we’ve been hurt by our own mistakes,” he said.
“We’ve played two very, very skilled sides … and from that point of view it doesn’t get a heck of a lot easier over the next four weeks.
“It’s no use making grandiose statements or people just think you’re making excuses all the time. All you can do is just bat up. There’s nowhere to hide in this competition … and if you drop off 10 per cent you’ll get belted by sides that are hungry and desperate to play finals footy.
“We’ve got enough to prove and we’ll go interstate next week and put up our best show again.
“It’s been a very tough year at the club. We don’t hide that [we don’t accept] where we are at the moment, but we don’t step away from the direction that we’re heading in.
“I’ve seen some sides over a period of time go through some pretty tough times, but I’ve also seen them come out of those tough times.”
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