Hardwick's aftermatch media conference

[one-eyed]

From the AFL site...

Damien Hardwick said while his players tired against Melbourne, he didn't believe it had anything to do with their past month where they had travelled to Darwin, Sydney and Brisbane for matches.

"I don't think so. I think all our players just played to a below expectation standard on the same day, which doesn't help you and you can't win games of football when you've got too many passengers," he said.

"We've got a really big challenge next Saturday with Carlton who are one of the form sides of the competition.

"We've got to take stock of what we've got to fix up but we need to move on very, very quickly."

Hardwick said the Tigers' "fundamental errors" had cost them against Melbourne, which included 32 clangers and 12 turnovers in their defensive 50 that resulted in six goals.

He also said he was frustrated by his players' lack of understanding of certain rule interpretations, specifically regarding the deliberate rushed behind rule and holding the ball.

The former resulted in a costly goal late in the third quarter when Chris Newman had the ball on the goal line and rather than rushing it through, he handpassed to Bachar Houli.

Houli then lost the ball to Jack Watts, who steadied and kicked a goal with one second remaining on the clock.

It put the Demons up by 29 points at three-quarter time after the Tigers had worked hard to reduce an earlier lead of 38, and was labelled by Hardwick as a "12-point turnaround" for the Demons kicked the first goal of the fourth.

Richmond would have been within three goals had Newman conceded the point.

"We made a number of mistakes like that today. The errors that are costing us are the simple ones we shouldn't make," he said.

"I think the guys need to get better at understanding [the rushed behind rule]. We've been through it a number of times but we just seem to play that ball right on the goal line.

"It's just a simple decision and we need to step it over. Chris never normally makes those mistakes so it's a blemish you live with.

"There's a number of holding the ball decisions we have to look at because it's becoming a bit of thing with us a the moment.

"We tend to get pinned when we're not quite sure how that's going to go."

Hardwick said the fact the Tigers were still in the contest in the last term - despite only Tyrone Vickery winning his position - showed their "poor games have improved, if you're looking for a positive".

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/117065/default.aspx

"Footy as we know is a game of chance. If you don't take yours at the right time, the momentum goes the other way.

We thought we were pretty dominant in that first 10 minutes but we couldn't just quite get that scoreboard ascendancy we were after.

I just thought Melbourne's pressure around the ball was very, very good. The heat they brought was outstanding and we just couldn't quite … I think we had 32 clangers, which is world-record pace for us. That's normally a two-game total."

http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/117062/default.aspx

[RollsRoyce]

From the AFL site...

He also said he was frustrated by his players' lack of understanding of certain rule interpretations, specifically regarding the deliberate rushed behind rule and holding the ball.

"There's a number of holding the ball decisions we have to look at because it's becoming a bit of thing with us a the moment.

"We tend to get pinned when we're not quite sure how that's going to go."

Maybe the players are confused like the fans, because there are two sets of rules for the two different teams. When a Melbourne player is tackled and disposes of the ball incorrectly it is play on. If it's a Tiger player it's holding the ball. The same set of double standards apply when a Richmond or Melbourne player finds themself lying on the ball at the bottom of a pack.



Edit: fixed quoting

[Damo]

Anyone blaming the umpires today is kidding

[The Big Richo]

Anyone blaming the umpires today is kidding

[RollsRoyce]

Anyone blaming the umpires today is kidding

Do any of you keyboard warriors actually ever go to the game? Perhaps if you did you might hear the resounding boo's emanating from the Punt Road End all day long. If you took your collective heads out of your backsides long enough.

[mightytiges]

There were a fair few decisions in the first half that were mindboggling. That free to Watts at the end of the first quarter where he leapt too early before the ball arrived and yet gained a free (ump pinged us for shepharding) was a joke. In fact the umps looked after Watts early on with the soft frees as if he was Nick Riewoldt  .

After half-time the holding the ball frees which had our supporters almost jumping the fence were interpreted the way they are now these days but it just showed how far removed the current interpretations are from the old holding and dropping the ball rules most of us grew up with. Players now days can just let go and drop the ball as soon as they are tackled and it's classed as play on while going to ground going for the ball will mean you will get pinged for diving on the footy. I don't think many of our players understand the new interpretations which is why we get pinged a lot.

[The Big Richo]

Anyone blaming the umpires today is kidding

Do any of you keyboard warriors actually ever go to the game? Perhaps if you did you might hear the resounding boo's emanating from the Punt Road End all day long. If you took your collective heads out of your backsides long enough.

I was at the game and there were good and bad decisions paid and not paid for both sides, as there is every week in every game.

I hear the boos, but to me for the majority of the time they represent the lack of understanding of the rules that many punters possess.

[mightytiges]

Anyone blaming the umpires today is kidding

Do any of you keyboard warriors actually ever go to the game? Perhaps if you did you might hear the resounding boo's emanating from the Punt Road End all day long. If you took your collective heads out of your backsides long enough.

I was at the game and there were good and bad decisions paid and not paid for both sides, as there is every week in every game.

I hear the boos, but to me for the majority of the time they represent the lack of understanding of the rules that many punters possess.

No.9 had both sides confused at stages. I'm not blaming the loss on the umps at all but it was an ordinary umpiring display yesterday. They were too whistle happy with technical frees and interferred with the flow of the game too often.

[10 FLAGS]

I thought we got done over again by the umpiring. Umpiring is in crisis IMHO.

[TigerLand]

Anyone blaming the umpires today is kidding

If you honestly think that display of umpiring is acceptable you deserve physical harm. Dees were the better side but the display of umpiring both sides put up with was circus-like. Not good enough when you have billions of dollars being thrown around the sport to have officials incorrectly interpretating rules, awarding square ups to even out mistakes and over officiating. It's not good enough and anyone who argues against is just a waste of space.

I don't care how hard the job is, if they make a mistake which 50% of mistakes are obviously show on replays look at the screen cop it on teh chin hold your hand up and say i stuffed up give me the ball it's a ball up. The free kick against Rance was pathetic. The square up was just as bad. Deliberate against Deledio was a pointless over officiating decision, the countless 50/50 holding the ball decisions were terrible the free kick against Melbourne for a throw when it was a handball, the whistle being put away and Jurrah speccing Rance and failed to touch the ball... I could go on.

Ruined another spectacle.

[Dubstep Dookie]

The umps were by no means the difference, however, the frees that were paid and weren't paid in the second and third quarters were pathetic (especially in each sides forward line.)

Melbourne defiantly had the rub of the green in those two quarters, the other two were even.

[Damo]

Do any of you keyboard warriors actually ever go to the game? Perhaps if you did you might hear the resounding boo's emanating from the Punt Road End all day long. If you took your collective heads out of your backsides long enough.

Yep. I was there.

The umpiring was legless. Disgraceful.

In saying that, they still weren't an excuse.

[RollsRoyce]

Yeah, and in my original post I never said the umpiring alone was the difference between a win and a loss. I simply highlighted Dimma's statement that our players are confused by some rules by saying the fans are just as confused by umpiring interpretations.
There's a host of reasons why we lost yesterday, which have been covered ad infinitum in other threads. But for the last four weeks in a row (at least) we have copped the worst of the umpiring. And sometimes it has cost us the game, like in Sydney for example. 

[Jackstar is back again]

Anyone blaming the umpires today is kidding

Thats correct,
People were going off with the Rance free in the 3rd quarter.
Reality is, if he plays in front , he would of got the free, and not the Melb player

[Owl]

Jackstar, If the Umpire cannot see at stuffing ground level right in front of him what the rest of the CROWD can see from the boundary line, he really does need stuffing glasses or he is blatantly helping the opposition!!!   I don't think the umpiring cost us this game but it did cost us a few goals and momentum.  The umpiring in the Sydney game did cost us the game imo and the umpiring in the Brisbane game was also pox.  The umpiring in the St.Kilda game also cost us a win as a opposed to a draw, and their crappy apology doesn't make up for it.  The state of the umpiring atm is ruining the game as a specatacle, they do not know what they are doing from what I can see and are winging it, helping Demetrious healthy interstate attendance plans or just going with whatever subconscious bias compells them.