Whateley on AFL360:“They coughed up the game against West Coast getting overrun and we pondered, out of respect and good faith, could they run the table and make a run at it? Well they‘ve lost to the teams that have been in 13th, 16th and 16th in those three weeks since the bye,” AFL 360 co-host Gerard Whateley said.
“If you‘re holding on, you’re holding on to an old idea now. We joked the time of death was declared, it was 6.41 (on Sunday) … for this season.
Richmond’s most recent loss to Collingwood came after Hardwick and vice-captain Jack Riewoldt launched passionate defences of their club’s position.
A fired-up Riewoldt said Richmond was still a “bloody good football side”, declaring: “Good luck if you’re playing against us in the last seven weeks.” Hardwick said Richmond was “still in the hunt” for a fourth premiership in five seasons, saying pundits that were critical of Richmond were “after big headlines”.
Despite the duo’s strong words in the lead up to the game, Whateley said the Tigers were “listlessly overrun by a team who is not a power-scoring team”.
“The words were there. I watched Jack and the ferociousness in his voice and the look in his eye of ‘good luck playing us’ in the way home – and Damien Hardwick, who ridiculed and pilloried the idea and that ‘people were just searching for headlines’. Nope,” Whateley said.
“For the words that you‘re putting forward, the will is no longer there.
“It was telling that Damien Hardwick, in his press conference, stepped away from the front line and spoke of the future and blooding young players.
“The truth will only be told in hindsight as to when he knew, but he knows – like we all know. You can‘t give up on the fight with six (games) to go, but he knows precisely.
“It is dramatic that this team, which has defined the past four years, is staring at missing the finals.”
Source: Foxsports
