Yze's first post-match presser:
Watch here: https://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/1503406/opening-round-yze-post-match--------------------------------------------------------------------
Yze calm in chaos as Tigers save face on the Gold CoastAAP
Mar 10, 2024Adem Yze reckons he did well to stop his head from spinning during one of the more rollicking AFL coaching debuts.
The Richmond mentor watched his men kick the first goal then concede the next 11 to a Gold Coast team led by former Tigers coach Damien Hardwick on Saturday.
They trailed by 67 points but then kicked seven straight majors of their own to briefly threaten, eventually falling 14.15 (99) to 9.6 (60).
"I try to pride myself on being calm and composed and to be fair I thought we still were in the box," former Melbourne player Yze said of his head coaching debut.
"We could see what was happening, felt we pulled the right levers and it was just an execution thing.
"That's the game of footy; the season's started now, there will be ups and downs and if we win I don't want to walk in here thinking everything's going well."
Yze was up against the hype of Hardwick and the absence of star trio Dustin Martin, Tom Lynch and Toby Nankervis.
“We were all over the shop in the first half on all three phases and our players know that,” Yze said.
“They smashed us at stoppage, we couldn’t lock the ball in the front half, and we couldn’t get the ball back off them when they had it.
“Credit to them, they played really well in the first half, everything went right for them.
"We went into our shells a bit," he conceded of their first-half submission.
"But we didn't dig too much into the mindset of that (playing against Damien Hardwick), other than that it's the first game and the spotlight is on.
"I'm more proud of our response, because it could have been a really horrendous result in the end."
“It looked like a Richmond game in the second half.
“We flipped the script on territory, we scored from stoppage and our boys just played the way that we want to play.
“So, we’ll review the first half. Our boys are really honest . . . they’re not happy with the way that they started, and we’ll review that.”
“In the end, whether we win the game or whether we lose the game, we’re going to review the game really honestly . . .
“We’ve got a game in five days, and we’ve got to move on really quickly. So, we’ll learn from it and get ready for Carlton.”
Martin will likely return for Thursday's MCG blockbuster against Carlton while Lynch and Nankervis are a chance.
"It's going to make our team better, but Noah (Balta) into the ruck in second half, was terrific and he's going to have to do that anyway," Yze added.
“Sam Naismith, in his first game for the Club, he toiled away and fought hard.
“(Debutant) Seth Campbell could have kicked three or four (goals) today. Didn’t look out of place, which is good.
“Josh Gibcus, first game back for a long time, he’ll be better for the run as well.”
"Dusty going out, disappointing but we had to be smart with that decision and to have him back will be handy."
https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/39687352/afl-opening-round-richmond-tigers-avoid-humiliation-gold-coast-sunshttps://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1503737/yzes-pride-after-the-tigers-fall