‘Selfish’ Tigers frustrate coach with senior players in the gunRonny Lerner
HeraldSun
31 July 2023Caretaker Richmond coach Andrew McQualter has bemoaned “moments of selfishness” from Noah Balta and Jacob Hopper which led to Melbourne goals on Sunday at the MCG.
The pair gave away 50-metre penalties to Jacob van Rooyen and Alex Neal-Bullen respectively, turning difficult chances at goal into certainties from the goal square.
The Tigers led by 15 and 20 points respectively when the incidents occurred, and they served as crucial momentum changers as Melbourne charged towards an emphatic 32-point victory in the end.
“It’s always frustrating to give undisciplined free kicks away, because the reality is it hurts the team,” McQualter said post-game.
“A moment of selfishness from an individual with the frustration, or whatever it is, but it has a bigger impact, so we need to get it out of our game.
“They’re senior guys, I think they are aware of what happened and the repercussions of it.”
A win for Richmond would’ve catapulted them into the top eight, but they’re now 11th and half a game outside.
“The ladder doesn’t lie so I think the reality is we were competitive against a top-four team for 2.5 to three quarters, but over 120 minutes of footy at the moment, we’re just a bit off,” he said.
“We think we can be better, we’re in a rush to get better and we’re going to find some things out of this game that we’ll be able to get better at for next week.”
Richmond’s next assignment is a blockbuster clash against the eighth-placed Western Bulldogs on Friday night at Marvel Stadium, with just two points separating the teams.
The Tigers only have a five-day break to prepare, but McQualter said that wouldn’t be an issue.
“It’s awesome. I think the beauty of 2020, what we learned is we love turning around really quick those games and playing on four and five-day breaks,” he said.
“Everyone loves playing footy, that’s what we’re here for, right? So the players don’t have to train much, they actually enjoy that, they get to roll out and play in five days.
“It won’t be a massive week on the track.”
Boosting Richmond’s hopes for a win is the return of suspended ruckman Toby Nankervis, and McQualter had no qualms playing him in the same side as Ivan Soldo.
“They’ve played in a premiership together, so we know they can play together,” he said.
Richmond will now probably have to win three of their last four games to make the finals.
“Everyone’s aware of the situation we’re in, the comp being so even,” he said.
“Ultimately if we’re good enough to win those games and we deserve to be there, we’ll get there.”
https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/afl-richmond-v-melbourne-demons-close-in-on-toptwo-spot-with-win-over-tigers/news-story/91de59709d20244c868dcaeb491c409f
