Hardwick lamented his side’s inability to win contests on the night against the top-of-the-table Demons.
“Just their (Melbourne’s) cleanliness in and around the contest was first class, there’s a reason why they’re reigning premiers and have won 13 on the trot,” he said.
“They just taught us a lesson in and around the contest... the frustration was the way we lost contest, behind the ball and at the ball. It’s probably been a bit of a common theme this year at various stages, the inconsistency of our ability to nullify a contest.
“But also sometimes we’ve got an uncanny ability to lose a contest where we have superior numbers. Which is a little bit disappointing on our point of view, but probably a great trend of the side next door.”
The Tigers went in with a strategy to keep Melbourne accountable across the field at all times and play a slower brand.
But Hardwick believes his team was too conservative at stages.
“Early days we sort of played with a handbrake on, we wouldn’t take the contest when we had 2 v 2s,” he said.
“Sometimes when you play a side as good as Melbourne, you don’t tend to attack them. But sometimes you've got to back your blokes in and I thought we were a little too gun shy at the start and probably controlled the ball a little bit too much.
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The Richmond coach was frustrated the Tigers did not play with more boldness early when arguably on top of Melbourne in the opening term.
But he feels there are signs the Tigers, which are one win outside the eight, can become a more formidable team if they can find greater consistency across the ground.
“There are some areas of our game we did well. There are some areas of our game we have certainly got to improve,” he said.
“What we have got to remember is that we have played a really good side that will put a lot of sides to the sword this year and we got within 20 points.
“The scoreboard probably flattered us a little bit, but there are some signs that we are going OK in various areas.”
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Hardwick said his group can still respond after an inconsistent start to its campaign.
"It's what we do – we pick up the pieces and we move on. There's some areas of our game we did well. There's some areas we need to improve. We get an opportunity every week. It's not like you're in the Olympics and you have to wait four years – we get an opportunity to get on the plane on Thursday and go over there and play some better footy," he said.
Sources: AFL,
Age &
Foxsports websites.
