Hardwick delivered the ultimate praise to five-gamer Maurice Rioli, whose return three games ago, the coach said, coincided with the re-emergence of “the Richmond style of game”.
“He was probably a little bit quieter last week, but defensively he’s just elite at what he does,” he said.
“We call it that when he’s playing, people see ghosts (just with) the pressure that he puts on. They know he’s there and around the contest and he’s just exciting and our players love playing with him.
“His energy is infectious and our players feed off it, so although he’s a little bit quieter last week, we think he’ll be much better this week.”
Source: HeraldSun