VIDEO: Dimma post-match ...
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/2014-02-22/hardwick-post-match---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Tigers were far better than they were against the Demons, with seven last-quarter goals rolling a Magpie outfit that benefited from eight majors courtesy of the Ben Reid and Travis Cloke combination.
Hardwick said while he was pleased that his players’ endeavour and attitude was better than it was last week, he was realistic about the time of year.
"We also have to understand it's pre-season. We're trialling a few things as are Collingwood at various stages as well," he said.
"It's probably a shorter ground too so it was a little easier to get that ball deeper inside 50 at various stages.
"From a ball winning perspective and the ability to use the ball, I thought we were pretty good."
He praised the performance of David Astbury against Reid and Cloke, mentioned Ben Griffiths took another step forward and was pleased with Matt McDonough and Nick Vlastuin.
The coach also said the Tigers had made sure Jake King – who has come under scrutiny recently for his friendship with bikie figure Toby Mitchell – was mentally prepared to play his first game for the year.
"He's fine. As far as we were concerned, that issue had been addressed from our point of view. Jake knows where we stand with that so he's fine," he said.
"We just had to make sure he was in a good space to play.
"He's a pretty resilient character young Jake … he's not that young anymore, or tall, but he's fine."
Meanwhile, defender Jake Batchelor looked to have escaped serious damage to the left leg he injured late in the second half against the Pies, with the initial diagnosis a corked calf.
Source:
AFL website
