Hardwick's post-match media conference / Dimma confident in Tigers' depth

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VIDEO: https://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/2019-05-12/round-8-hardwick-postmatch

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Two more Tigers down as injury crisis continues

AFL.com.au
Travis King
May 13, 2019

RICHMOND'S injury curse has claimed No.1 ruckman Toby Nankervis and Jack Ross, but coach Damien Hardwick is confident the Tigers' depth will keep them in the September fight.

Hardwick lauded his troops for a "great win" after they overcame Fremantle by 25 points in the west on Sunday.

Seven premiership Tigers – headlined by Trent Cotchin, Jack Riewoldt and Alex Rance – were on the injury list but before the clash, but Richmond ambushed the home side in a ferocious performance.

Hardwick expected to lose Nankervis (groin) and Ross (foot) for next round's meeting with Hawthorn after both sat out the second half, but reinforcements could be on the way. 

"They both won't play next week, so where that leaves us longer term I'm not too sure," Hardwick said post-match.

"Both will have scans and we'll know from there.

"One thing we do look at is the opportunity it provides someone else.

The Tigers played like their season depended on it against the Dockers, storming out of the blocks, and kicking away after Fremantle levelled scores from 25 points down.

Shai Bolton was the star in his first game back in WA, booting four goals, while Tom Lynch put a week of scrutiny behind with 15 disposals, six contested marks and 2.2 to get the better of Alex Pearce and Joel Hamling.

"I thought he was outstanding. What did he kick, two? Hit the post a couple of times, looked really strong in the air," Hardwick said.

"The media, that's the job, we understand that.

"The fact of the matter is, Tom plays a valuable role within our football club. Is he going to play outstanding games all the time, take big marks and kick big goals? No, he's not.

"But he certainly will create a contest like he did tonight and give our crumbers a chance.

"The amount of times Shai Bolton kicks four goals, I don't know how (much) impact Tom had in those and bringing the ball to ground, but I'd probably say a couple.

"It was probably the best they've looked this year (with our small forwards).

Hardwick played down a fourth-quarter incident involving Lynch, who copped a high forearm from Dockers skipper Nat Fyfe that will be looked at by the Match Review Officer.

"Things in games happen. Accidents happen, so move on," he said.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-05-12/two-more-tigers-down-as-injury-crisis-continues

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“It was a great win,” Hardwick said.

“To win interstate with a couple of guys down in the second half, and show the effort and intent our players did, was a terrific result.

“It’s always tough to come interstate, especially against a side such as Freo that’s playing some pretty good footy . . .

“We were disappointed obviously with the game last week (v Bulldogs), and we spoke to the players about that.

“Our leaders – the few we’ve got left at the moment – really stood up. Shane Edwards set the scene very early, I thought.

“We managed to get the game on our terms, especially in a hostile environment such as this.

“You want to start well and quell the crowd, and I thought our guys did a pretty good job of that.

“Freo obviously fought back. They’re a proud footy club, well-coached, well-organised. We knew they’d come, but for our guys to be able to hold them off was a great effort.”

The absence of Nankervis in the ruck forced a major reshuffle of the magnets on the Tigers’ coaching board.

“I’m pretty lucky I’ve got some really good assistant coaches who came out with a plan,” Hardwick said.

“Obviously Noah (Balta) is a young, first-year player, and it was great to see his effort and intent in the ruck. And then Nathan Broad who pinch-hit there, too.

“I thought we looked really solid.

“Although we lost ‘Nank’ (Toby Nankervis), which was disappointing, I thought our ability to hunt in and around the contest certainly lifted after that.”

https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2019-05-13/dimma-delight-with-tigers-might