Hardwick press conference 14-10-2020

[one-eyed]

Richmond have embraced taking the long road to the final four, wary of how their players would’ve handled so much downtime had they won the qualifying final.

The Tigers would’ve entered their preliminary final having played just once in the past 28 days if they earned the week off.

“Our guys have enjoyed the fact we’re consistently playing,” Hardwick said. “I still would’ve loved to have won the first final. (But) we’re not too sorry the way we’ve gone about it.”

They celebrated their 100th day in the hub on Tuesday, whereas Port and Brisbane have enjoyed sleeping in their own beds.

The Tigers recorded season-worst differentials for disposals (-80), contested ball (-43), inside 50s (-31) and points from turnovers (-18) against Port in round 11, while their -18 for clearances was their second-worst result.

But the Tigers have been the AFL’s best learners in their golden run, reversing home-and-away results in big finals against Geelong, GWS and Adelaide in 2017, Geelong in 2019 and St Kilda this year.

The Tigers used metal barriers to mark out Adelaide Oval’s dimensions for training at Metricon on Wednesday, as they did before beating the Crows in round 18.

Hardwick said the territory battle would be critical, given Port’s ground was so easy to defend. Richmond is ranked No 1 for territory this year, with Port ranked No 2.

Source: The Australian

[one-eyed]

Richmond narrowed the ground at training on Wednesday to replicate Adelaide Oval in what shapes as a tantalising battle.

The squad, which will fly to South Australia on Thursday morning, trained at a high intensity for more than 90 minutes.

Discipline and ‘how much aggression is too much’ has been a constant theme for the Tigers in 2020. So far, the club has coped with additional pressure well, winning through to a fourth consecutive preliminary final.

Hardwick himself conceded he had “brain fades” as a player and even a couple as a coach, but remained steadfast in his want for Richmond to “play on the edge.”

“I consistently say this: The very best sides will play the hardest brand of footy,” he said.

“We are going to overstep the mark sometimes. Do I want to give away stupid free kicks or 50m penalties? No I don’t. And the players understand that and accept responsibility. We need to get better in that part of the game.

“We will continue to improve and continue to learn from it and not put ourselves in that situation. The game will be pretty volatile. We are going to a hostile environment against a very good opposition. We want to play on the edge.”

Hardwick, who played in Port’s last flag in 2004, put the pressure on the home side, calling them “the best team all year”.

It was another example of a coach seeking the underdog tag. The Power became the first side since Essendon in 2000 to sit top of the ladder after every round of the home and away season.

According to Hardwick, the Tigers are the hunters not the hunted, despite winning two of the past three flags.

“They’ve been the best side all year,” he declared.

“The way they’ve played the game, they’ve been on top since day dot and they are on top now. Ken gets them to play an attacking brand of footy, although they have probably changed a little bit the way they play. They are not quite as assertive offensively. They like to control the ball a bit more in the back half.

“They have probably the most dynamic forward in the game in big Charlie (Dixon). They have a formidable ruck outfit as well. I love watching them and hopefully we can beat them this week.”

Source: Foxsports