Dimma's presser today:
VIDEO:
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/2017-08-19/hardwick-previews-fremantle--------------------------------------------------------------------
'Champion' Rance will bounce back: Hardwickafl.com.au
19 August 2017RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick expects champion defender Alex Rance to rebound from a rare poor performance to lead the Tigers' top-four charge in Perth on Sunday.
Rance conceded four goals to Geelong swingman Harry Taylor as a slow-starting Richmond fell 14 points short last week.
"Champions don't stay down for long. We quickly jump on them, dont we?" Hardwick told reporters at Melbourne airport on Saturday.
"It's very similar to Gary Ablett's game earlier in the year. It's one bad game and all of a sudden, we forget how great they are. Alex sometimes needs a little bit of a reminder of that as well.
"He's a fantastic player, and our expectation of Alex is so high that every now and then he has a bad game and it's like the end of the earth, but
he'll bounce back this week. He's incredible at what he does (and is the) best defender I've seen in 20 years of AFL footy."
Red-hot Sydney, which has won 13 of its past 15 games since an 0-6 opening, provisionally snatched Richmond's top-four spot with a three-point victory over top side Adelaide on Friday night.
Hardwick is now resigned to the Tigers most likely having to win both of their last two games against Fremantle and St Kilda if they are to claim it back.
"They (the Swans) are a great side and it was a great game of footy last night, and it's a big challenge for us going over (to Domain Stadium)," he said.
"We've got to keep our top-four hopes alive and probably have to win both games now - the pressure is on us, which is the way we want it to be.
"The best place to be is when pressure is high, and it's up to our guys and our coaching staff to rise to the challenge and that's what we expect and what we are looking forward to."
The Western Bulldogs proved last year that teams could win the flag from outside the top four, but Hardwick said earning the "double-chance opportunity" was a priority.
Richmond is preparing for a contested ball war against Freo by promoting Jacob Townsend and first-gamer Jack Graham, who both excel in that area.
Oleg Markov also returns to the senior side to face the Dockers, who are fresh from a 104-point hiding from the Swans the most severe defeat a Ross Lyon team has ever received.
"They've (Fremantle) been really competitive over a long period," Hardwick said.
"We got beaten badly up there (at the SCG) last year as well it's a tough ground to play at and I expect them to come out like Ross Lyon sides, playing good, hard, tough footy.
"They're back on their home deck, so a familiar environment to them and
we have to play a lot better than we did last week as well, so we're certainly coming out to right a few wrongs from last week and hopefully get the result we want."
Hardwick was critical of the lopsided free kick count in Geelong's favour over the Tigers last round, but would not be drawn on the potential of it happening again in Perth in Fremantle's final game at Domain Stadium.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-08-19/champion-rance-will-bounce-back-hardwickThis week coincides with another troubled star, Harley Bennell, preparing to play his first game in two years for second club Fremantle against Richmond on Sunday.
Bennell was linked to drugs in his time at Gold Coast, where a picture of him surfaced with illicit drugs in front of him. Ex-Sun Karmichael Hunt also named him as one of 12 Gold Coast players who used drugs in his time.
But Bennell, the No.2 pick in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft, has overcome further off-field problems and persistent calf injuries to earn his spot in the Dockers' team.
"He's an incredible player (and) it's those sorts of guys you come to the footy to watch," Hardwick said of Bennell.
"We just hope he doesn't put on a show for us this week. But I'm glad Harley's back he was an incredible player at Gold Coast. We would have loved to have him at Richmond. We courted him there for a while, but he chose Fremantle over us.
"He's a good player and he'll be a good player for them for a long period of time."
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-08-19/yarran-troubles-had-a-profound-impact-on-tigers
