Dimma's post-match presser ...
VIDEO:
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/2015-08-16/round-20-hardwick-postmatch-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Coach Damien Hardwick says Richmond need to lift pressure to beat Collingwood Matt Murnane
The Age
August 17, 2015 Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says his team must lift their defensive pressure quickly if they hope to keep their slim top-four hopes alive in Saturday's blockbuster against Collingwood.
Despite a percentage-boosting 83-point win over Gold Coast on Sunday that all-but assured the Tigers a finals position and kept them in touch with the Western Bulldogs and Sydney for the fight for fourth position, Hardwick admitted his team's tackling against the Suns was nowhere near the standard required to earn a double chance.
The Tigers laid just one tackle in the first quarter against Gold Coast – the club's worst result since 1999 – and by half-time that number had grown to just nine (against Gold Coast's 37), and yet five of Richmond's eight first-half goals came from turnovers.
The Tigers eventually lost the tackle count 30-61 in a bruise-free encounter at the MCG – the team's lowest tally for the season and well below their season average of 58.9.
"We were hitting the scoreboard earlier, but defensively we weren't anywhere near where we want to be today, so that's something that we'll look at working on this week," Hardwick said, pointing out the only disappointing aspect of an otherwise clinical performance.
"It's not as if we were smashing them in contested ball, either," the coach added after the game.
"We probably allowed them to get through at various stages. They took the ball wide and cut back through the middle which we were disappointed with.
"We didn't probably scout that as well as I would have liked, so that was disappointing.
"It wasn't one of our better tackling days, but in saying that the contested ball numbers started going our way a lot more as the game went on, so that was probably understandable."
One game behind the Bulldogs and Sydney with games against the Pies, Essendon and North Melbourne to come, the Tigers consolidated sixth spot and lifted their percentage above that of the fifth-placed Swans - and any team below them - with a flawless offensive display of system and accurate goal-kicking to eventually win 22.6 (138) to 8.7 (55).
The fact that half the team kicked at least one goal was a key factor in the efficient performance, with Ty Vickery fronting the onslaught with four, while Sam Lloyd, Brett Deledio and Dustin Martin each kicked three, and Jack Riewoldt and Kane Lambert chipped in with two.
"At no stage have we had a settled forward six. We've been pretty stable through the middle and in defence, but we've had Shane Edwards not play for probably five weeks, Brett [Deledio] has been in and out, Ben Griffiths has been in and out, and Ty [Vickery] the same," Hardwick said.
"So we are looking forward to getting some consistency in that area, but in saying that, we are pleased with some of the players we've found."
Hardwick was also pleased that his team won the contested ball statistic by 33, having lost in that area by 32 to Adelaide the week before.
"That was a great bounce-back. We always knew they would," he said.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/coach-damien-hardwick-says-richmond-need-to-lift-pressure-to-beat-collingwood-20150816-gj0atk.html
