Tigers build from back * Bruce Matthews
* Herald Sun
* March 25, 2010 RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick has warned the style of game tonight could be ugly as he tries to educate his players.
He didn't dismiss the prospect of using "winning ugly" tactics similar to those employed by Ross Lyon when he began at St Kilda.
"There is a possibility of that. I remember watching Ross when he took over in 2007 and the St Kilda side struggled early. I don't think they won a pre-season game," Hardwick said yesterday.
"It's all about basing your structure on defence and that's what we're about and build forward from that. There might be stages where it doesn't look pretty, but, believe me, they're learning about the way to play the game.
"The importance of (Will) Thursfield, (Luke) McGuane and (Kelvin) Moore. They've only played together once in the course of the pre-season campaign and we won that game. If we can develop those players as the cornerstone of the defence, it will sit well for the future.
"We know it's the start of a long process and our game plan will stay the same throughout the year. With a young group, if you swap and change, they lose confidence. We have to instil the belief it's a game plan that will stand the rigours of an AFL final."
The Tigers will introduce Dustin Martin, Relton Roberts, Ben Nason and Mitch Farmer against the Blues, but the progression of their second and third-year players will determine if they can rise up the ladder.
"Those are the guys we're hoping to become better players," Hardwick said.
"If we can do that, we'll become a better side a hell of a lot quicker.
"I reckon by 60 games you know where a player is at. They will either go on or fall away relatively quickly. It's the same with our young guys coming in, we've got to get as many games as we can into our under-22 players to set ourselves up for our 11th premiership."
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/tigers-build-from-back/story-e6frf9ix-1225844968268
