Damien Hardwick feels Tigers are on track as Demons awaitGreg Denham
The Australian
24 April 2018Richmond coach Damien Hardwick is reasonably satisfied with how the Tigers are coping in a premiership defence that continues in tonight’s Anzac Day eve against Melbourne at the MCG, believing they will become increasingly hard to beat.
Throughout his career as a coach, Hardwick has made a habit of breaking a season down into four-week blocks, and the modus operandi continues in 2018.
It allows the Richmond coach time to not only assess where the Tigers sit but also whether there have been changes to the competition at large, be it tactically or in form.
After trumping Hawthorn in round 3, Hardwick stated the game appeared to be more open than last year, but he now believes things are correcting as the season progresses.
“It has been OK. It is probably very similar to how we tracked last year, though I think we were four and zip to start. The numbers look a little bit the same,” Hardwick said. “The game is probably more open but we started to see a little bit on the weekend that the game has tightened up and the scores have come down, so the players are starting get a little bit tired as the season progresses, so the game changes a little bit.
“It becomes a little bit more contested, a little bit more high pressure, which suits us.”
The loss to Adelaide in round 2 aside, there is marginal change in the Tigers for and against from this year to last, with few signs of a dreaded premiership hangover.
Richmond were averaging 106.5 points for and 75.25 against at this stage a year ago. This season they are booting three points less and conceding four points more.
And despite failing to reach the heady form of last September, the Tigers can seize top position if they topple Melbourne tonight.
Critical to that outcome will be Dustin Martin, the best player in the game for the past season.
A player ratings metric used by Champion Data determined last week he had officially assumed top position from Patrick Dangerfield, though the swag of individual awards he claimed last season demonstrated this was the case.
After taking the top spot, Martin last week compiled his lowest possession count in a year, with just 17 against Brisbane, only one more than he managed in the corresponding clash against the Lions a year ago.
But he showed just how damaging he could be when playing largely in attack against the Lions, booting a career-best six goals.
Hardwick yesterday claimed Martin played largely on his own volition and that he had no real control on where the Tigers’ superstar roamed on match day.
“It was probably more circumstances and, once again, it changes from week to week,” he said.
“I’d love to say I have a say over it, but Dusty dictates where he goes and I am happy to back him in, either way.
“He has an understanding on what his opponent is doing to him and where he can best get an advantage from that.
“That is why we love the great players. They dictate where they want to go and how they want to play and we will continue to back in those players to do that.”
This makes alarming reading for an opposition coach in terms of planning on how to deal with Martin, for if the Richmond coach is not certain about what the Brownlow medallist will do, what hope do they have? That job falls to Simon Goodwin tonight, though history suggests the Demons are one club Martin struggles to perform against.
The 26-year-old has played 10 matches against the Demons but, on average, has fared worse only against St Kilda and Carlton based on a breakdown of his performances.
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