Dimma's media conf. 28-6-19/ Need connection; Names back won't just fix things

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Dimma's presser this morning:

VIDEO: https://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/2019-06-28/hardwick-previews-saints

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Richmond coach Damien Hardwick is confident the Tigers’ returning stars are ready to go and is excited to “put the pieces back together” of his premiership line-up.

Trent Cotchin, Shane Edwards and Kane Lambert will all return from injury against St Kilda on Sunday and Jayden Short could play for the first time since he suffered a nasty elbow injury in Round 3.

Hardwick said Short, who trained this morning without apparent discomfort but with his right elbow strapped, was a “standout” in match simulation this week.

“Do we play him in the VFL? That’s a possibility, but it’s also possible he’ll play seniors because he’s such a valuable player for us. He also allows me to move some magnets around,” he said.

“(Edwards) was the No.1 or No.2 score assist player in the AFL. We’ve had to play him down back and he’s done a stellar job for us down there, but our connection inside 50 hasn’t been a highlight this year, so they are the decisions we have to make.

“The pieces of the puzzle are starting to come back together.

“I’m really proud of how the guys have hung tough over that part of the year, now all of a sudden we can start to put the pieces back where they belong and that’s really exciting for us.”

Just four players have played every game this year for the ninth-placed Tigers, who must win on Sunday to start a run to September.

Hardwick said "there are some things we'll look at tinkering with" to improve the Tigers' poor record at Marvel Stadium this year after bad losses to North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/afl-daily-rolling-footy-news-from-across-australia-for-friday-june-28-2019/live-coverage/8ebc75f910b48382ac6ffc8025d66320

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Dimma looks for connection rather than just names

Sarah Black,
AFL Media
Jun 28, 2019

Richmond's reinforcements have finally arrived, with six returning players – David Astbury (hamstring), Shane Edwards (hamstring tendonitis), Trent Cotchin (general soreness), Kane Lambert (Achilles), Jayden Short (elbow) and Ivan Soldo (illness) – all named in the squad of 26 to take on St Kilda on Sunday.

But after three straight losses, Tigers coach Damien Hardwick cautioned fans expecting an immediate bounce back to form.

"The fact we've had four players play every game together, the connection of sides – you look at the sides who are at the very, very top, the way they've had a great connection and a lot of their players have played together for a sustained period," he said.

"We probably haven't had that, we've been filling gaps along the way. The guys have hung tough for the vast majority, but it probably came to a tipping point in the last couple of weeks.

"Once again, those guys that are available for selection and coming back, they're not going to solve the problem straight away. We've got to play them playing in unison, get them a good understanding of patterns and movement and continue to play well from that.

"It's all good to have names back, but the reality is on-field we need to make sure we connect heavily."

Hardwick backed half-back flanker Short to hit the ground running, despite having not played at either VFL or AFL level since dislocating his elbow in round three.

"Once again, he's been training for a sustained period of time now and his fitness is good," Hardwick said.

"We had some match practice earlier this week and on Sunday, I think it was, as well, and he was a standout for us. He'll certainly put his hand up to play."

Source: AFL website