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We’re ready: Hardwick says Tigers primed for finals tiltAFL.com.au
September 5, 2015RICHMOND is a lot better prepared for this year's final series than last year's ill-fated campaign, coach Damien Hardwick says.
The Tigers rounded off their finals preparations with a 41-point win over North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Friday night, which will likely secure them fifth spot on the ladder and a return date with the Roos in an elimination final next weekend.
Richmond entered Friday night's game prohibitive favourites after North decided to rest nine senior players as part of its finals preparation.
The Roos defied expectations to have the better of play in the first half, and led by 16 points when Kayne Turner kicked the opening goal of the second half.
Hardwick told reporters after the match that his players hadn't been switched on in the first half, conceding the pre-game controversy over North's resting policy had possibly distracted them.
But the Tigers soon found their grove in the second half, kicking 14 of the last 19 goals to ultimately cruise to victory.
The Tigers will enter the finals on the back of four straight wins, but unlike last year when they won their last nine games to sneak into eighth spot, this season they have been entrenched in the top eight since round eight.
The effort of rebounding from a 3-10 start to 2014 ultimately told on Richmond in last year’s elimination final against Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval, as it conceded the first seven goals on the way to a 57-point smashing.
This followed the Tigers' defeat in their only other final under Hardwick, the 2013 elimination final against Carlton.
But the Tigers coach said the 2015 version of Richmond is ready to win the club's first final since 2001.
"This group's come a long way (since last year). We've introduced some new players into our side, their maturity level has improved and we're a better side," Hardwick said.
"I have complete faith in our players that they'll perform to the best of their ability.
"Our leaders have stood up time and time again. We've won a lot of footy games."
Hardwick won't use the Tigers' past two finals defeats as motivation for next week's cut-throat game, saying the club had learned from those defeats and moved on.
The Tigers coach said his players would take confidence out of their 15 wins this season and the knowledge that their best football is good enough to break their finals hoodoo.
"We weren't at our best tonight. We'll be a lot better next week, we're playing a good, consistent brand of footy," Hardwick said.
"We've got to maintain the consistency we've shown over the last 14-15 weeks.
"Our best is good enough, but we have to continue to make sure we work on the things we need to and get ourselves right for possibly the Sunday game that we'll have."
Hardwick said while North's personnel was likely to change markedly next week, he did not expect its game style to.
He was not sure what effect North's resting policy would have on its performance in the finals, but said Richmond had no concerns about the fitness of its players heading into September.
"We've been pretty fortunate, we've played a lot of Friday night games. It's amazing when you have a Friday night game, mentally they become 'freshener-upperers', so to speak," Hardwick said.
"They trained above the ground at the moment, we were running over the top of it at the end of the game, I think you saw.
"We were really pleased with the prep our boys had. We're in really good shape."
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-09-05/were-ready-hardwick-says-tigers-primed-for-finals-tilt
