Dimma post-match ....
Watch here: https://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/987768/round-19-hardwick-post-match------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Richmond’s 2021 season is hanging by a thread after their fifth defeat in six games, this a comprehensive 38-point loss to Geelong, but coach Damien Hardwick says the Tigers have not surrendered.
“We push on and we hang in there. That’s what our club does,” Hardwick said. “We’re not running up the flag by any stretch of the imagination while we’re still a mathematical chance of making finals.”
“We haven’t had the greatest run with injuries,” Hardwick said. “There hasn’t been a lot of luck on that front. Other sides have had injuries, too. But we haven’t had them come back consistently.“
Geelong, with 10 wins in 11 games to install themselves in equal top place on the ladder, are on the opposite trajectory to Richmond. Hardwick was suitably impressed.
“They’re one of the better sides in the competition, if not the best,” he said. “It’s a matter of who’s playing their best footy at the right time. They’re playing some good footy at the moment, but I’m sure Scotty will say their best footy is still in front of them. My feeling is thay’re only going to get better.”
He – Geelong coach Chris Scott – did. “We’re certainly in better shape now than we were a couple of months ago, for what we think are obvious reasons,” Scott said.
“[But] it would be a mistake to think we’re the finished product and the way we’re playing now is going to be good enough against anyone, because we’ve just got too much respect for how difficult it is at the pointy end of the season, against the best teams in the competition.”
“Their contested ball game is very, very good,” Hardwick said. “They gave us a lesson in that part of the game.”
Hardwick said he was pleased with the development of inexperienced players like Rhyan Mansell, Sydney Stack and Daniel Rioli in the back line. “Sometimes you’ve got to take one step back to go two steps forward,” he said. “There’s certainly some silver lining, but every now and then it’s hard to see it.”
Richmond were due to fly out to Perth last night to prepare for the Fremantle game.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/tigers-not-running-up-the-flag-cats-chasing-one-20210725-p58csl.html
