Hardwick's post-game presser / The game has evolved & we have to change with it

[one-eyed]

Dimma post-match:

Watch here: https://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/992759/round-20-hardwick-post-match

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says he will wait until Tuesday to speak to his players after their finals hopes were slashed in a four-point loss to Fremantle on Sunday, following a frustrating first half of footy in which both sides failed to capitalise on the scoreboard.

"We will sit back and take a look at the game and take some time to digest what has happened," he said.

"We are still a mathematical chance so the ball is in our court, but we have to play a fair bit better than we did today."

Hardwick said his players were hurting after leading by nine points midway through the final term, only for the home side Dockers to kick the final two goals to snatch victory in an elimination final-like contest.

“We’re obviously disappointed so it’s easy to sit there from an immediate point of view and see the things that have gone wrong, but we want to have a really good look at it and get an understanding of why things aren’t working,” Hardwick said.

“We’re just not getting the ease of goals we certainly think we deserve. We’ve got some work to do in that part of the game.”


Richmond coach Damien Hardwick believes the game of AFL has evolved this year and that his side is one of many that needs to change with it.

Hardwick admits that his team, which has become so used to winning, is frustrating that they aren’t getting the results.

“It’s challenging, there is no doubt,” he said.

“The frustrating thing for us and the playing group is that there are things we are doing well. Things, like skill execution, missed tackles, fundamentals of the game, that we’re just not quite getting to the Richmond level we expect.

“It’s things we can control we have been incredibly disappointed about.

“We need to continually challenge each other to get better over the remaining three rounds.”

Richmond has won only once game since they beat Essendon in the Dreamtime clash at Optus Stadium in Round 12 – beating Brisbane in Round 18.

“It sums up the year of footy. It has been a weird year,” he said.

“It’s challenging; it’s different.

“The game has changed, it’s evolved and we have to change with it.

“Probably there are sides who have been on the road and sides who have travelled back-and-fourth.

“It’s a been a fatiguing year. The challenge from club land and the AFL to get where we are at the moment is an incredible achievement.

“Sides are right on the edge; it’s hard and fatiguing. We’ve seen a lot of uncontested marks.

“We have to dig in. Like everyone else, we can see the finish line, we just have to keep pushing up that mountain and get where we need to go.

“It’s going to be one hell of a finish, but it has been a long season.”

https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/afl/fremantle-dockers-all-but-end-richmond-tigers-afl-finals-hopes/news-story/f3115f8ecc553444489bc8a8aa40d402
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/dockers-land-blow-to-tigers-in-thrilling-four-point-win-20210801-p58eu6.html
https://www.afl.com.au/news/656920/-the-ball-s-in-our-court-dockers-in-charge-of-their-own-finals-destiny

[Tigeritis™©®]

In other words……

We are playing poo, I don’t know how we are going to win another game.

We can’t kick, handball or tackle anymore.

We haven’t been able to adapt to the new rules that has ruined our defensive system.

Our good ordinary players are just plain ordinary now.

Maybe we should’ve done more to keep Leppitsch, Caracella and Rob Inness.

Maybe I’ve lost the respect of the senior players.

[Diocletian]

Now watch as we recruit players suited to the new rules, get rid of the players who were more suited to the old rules and then they scrap the new rules just before the season starts...

[Andyy]

I don't think the rules have been the main problem. It has hurt us for sure but if the players were motivated and we had our best 22 on the ground I feel like we could have adapted fine.

We have until recently been a very clean and hard running team. The stand rule should be surmountable.

[Diocletian]

We've never been a clean team...new rules have exposed our surplus of unskilled players......having said that if I had to single out just one issue above all others that's cost us this year....it's the absolutely embarrassingly peeweak tackling, really is that simple imo...improve on that and we at least win the close ones we've lost and we'd be safely ensconced in the eight.... 

[Andyy]

We've never been a clean team...new rules have exposed our surplus of unskilled players......having said that if I had to single out just one issue above all others that's cost us this year....it's the absolutely embarrassingly peeweak tackling, really is that simple imo...improve on that and we at least win the close ones we've lost and we'd be safely ensconced in the eight.... 

Yes we have. Sometimes we rush it forwards ugly but there are several examples of us being a very clean team between the D50 and F50.

[mightytiges]

Mixed messages coming out of Punt Rd. In one breath Dimma says we're still in the hunt for finals and if we can get things right then we can be dangerous come finals time if we make it; but in the next, he is using fatigue as an excuse and is publicly saying it's been a long year and we would like fewer games not more. If your mindset is tired and you want fewer games then you're not gunning for finals (which obviously means playing more games).

There's definitely a lack of intensity and hunger. It stood out yesterday with Stack and his desperation showing up how much his teammates have dropped off this year. To get 9 points up with 10 mins to go and have all the momentum and then go asleep again as though the game was already won was pathetic.

If it's not hunger then it's a lack of fitness and conditioning. Over the past 7 weeks we've been in front in the last quarter in 5 of them yet only won one match. We've been run over in the last 10 minutes in four of those 5 games we were in front: Coughed up the last 4 goals to the Eagles; last 2 goals to the Suns; last 5 goals to the Pies; and yesterday the last two goals to the Dockers.

The other issue this year is this sense of entitlement such as “We’re just not getting the ease of goals we certainly think we deserve." Dimma, we don't deserve anything with our lack of connection between mids and forwards and our garbage forward entries. We don't deserve anything either when we miss sitters and are not able to kick more than one goal from beyond 20m out. We don't deserve anything when we again only kick one goal in half a footy. Dish up the skill level and tactics of U10s and you get what you deserve  . 

[Diocletian]

We've never been a clean team...new rules have exposed our surplus of unskilled players......having said that if I had to single out just one issue above all others that's cost us this year....it's the absolutely embarrassingly peeweak tackling, really is that simple imo...improve on that and we at least win the close ones we've lost and we'd be safely ensconced in the eight.... 

Yes we have. Sometimes we rush it forwards ugly but there are several examples of us being a very clean team between the D50 and F50.

The odd clean play doesn't alter the fact that on balance, we've never been a clean team...the coaching staff and the players themselves acknowledge this... doubt blokes like Castagna, McIntosh & Pickett would be walk up starts if we were a side that placed a high value on cleanliness unless they predominately played on ball or as taggers(like De Boer at GWS fe)...