Tigers had no answer for Naitanui: HardwickTravis King
afl.com.au
June 20, 2015 DAMIEN Hardwick says Richmond had no answer for Nic Naitanui at the MCG on Friday night, with the Tigers coach conceding the West Coast ruckman is nearly unstoppable at his brilliant best.
Naitanui set the tone from the opening bounce in the Eagles' 20-point win, before dominating Ivan Maric and part-timers Ben Griffiths and Ty Vickery around the ground.
The 201cm Eagle won 33 hit-outs – including 16 from the centre to the Tigers trio's seven – and booted two goals from 12 disposals while also laying five tackles.
"Yeah, it's hard (to stop him). He had a good game tonight, I thought. He's impressive," Hardwick said post-match.
"To go forward and kick a couple of goals as well, he's just explosive. A couple of centre bounce clearances were as good as you'll see, so it was really impressive."
Fed by Naitanui and back-up big man Callum Sinclair (12 hit-outs), the Eagles' midfield got on top as the Tigers struggled to kick into the same gear which propelled them to four-straight wins before the bye.
Richmond (6-5) had beaten Collingwood, Port Adelaide, Essendon and previously undefeated Fremantle prior to the week off, surging from 13th on the ladder to seventh before the loss to West Coast.
However, Hardwick refused to blame the bye for stalling Richmond's momentum, instead saying the Tigers couldn't pressure the Eagles enough and that they coughed up possession too easily to West Coast's zone defence.
"To give up 23 marks to the opposition from our boot is credit to West Coast," Hardwick said.
"They're doing some unbelievable stuff behind the ball. Their zoning behind the ball is as good as we've seen this year and we struggled to get through at times."
Despite the Eagles having more possession (+19), clearances (+5) and inside 50s (+2), the Tigers went in ahead at half-time by three points thanks to a late flurry.
But Hardwick said his side never really gained the ascendancy and he credited star midfielder Dustin Martin (31 disposals, three goals) for keeping Richmond in the contest at the main break.
"We looked off at the start. A lack of intensity I thought and our skills weren't to the level that we know they could be, so we eventually fought our way back into the contest but we probably never looked as if we were going to run away with it," Hardwick said.
"I thought (Martin) was the reason we were in the game at half-time, he was outstanding. He probably quietened a little bit in the second half but we were probably jumping on his back in the first half.
"He made some things happen, he was trying to get our game up and going but unfortunately we didn't have enough guys ready to go with him tonight."
The loss was soured by a groin injury to first-year player Corey Ellis, who will have scans this week to determine the extent of the issue.
Richmond has now slipped one rung on the ladder to eighth spot, with a tough challenge against the third-placed Sydney Swans at the SCG looming next Friday night.
"We've got a real challenge on our hands next week to go up to Sydney to knock them off on their home track, but we've done it before and we're capable of doing it again," Hardwick said.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-06-20/nic-nat-hard-to-stop-
