Damian Hardwick warns against opposition clubs writing Richmond off after win streakBruce Matthews
Herald-Sun
August 07, 2014 3:41PMRICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick defended his team against a notion that the string of recent wins was largely based on inferior opposition.
“I think our numbers suggest otherwise. Wins are a byproduct of the process and our process is fine at the moment. A lot of our KPI (key performance indicators) that a lot of clubs go by are right up there. All you can do is measure those,’’ he said.
On what has contributed to the form turnaround, Hardwick said: “It’s probably simple to say it’s one thing. There’s a number of things that come into play. It’s what the guys have spoken about, the five per cent we were looking for in the training standard has increased, not so much from an on field but more around the club perspective.
“The addition of Ivan Maric makes a huge difference. We haven’t had Dan Jackson for the majority of the year also. Brett Deledio comes back in, Alex Rance. Probably what we didn’t do was cover injury well, we were disappointing in that area and didn’t play anywhere near our best footy earlier. So, there’s a number of things we can look at our success over the last five to six weeks and measure it by.’’
The Tigers coach denied an alteration to the game plan in the second half of the season. “It’s amazing when you get good players, you become a good coach,’’ he said.
“You look at Port Adelaide, they haven’t played their best footy over the last couple of weeks. It’s no coincidence that (Alipate) Carlisle and (Jackson) Trengove go out. Hawthorn is probably a side that has bucked the trend, they’ve covered their injuries incredibly well. But sides go in and out with players and it’s a matter of trying to hold the fort and get some wins when you can.’’
Hardwick is hoping his Tigers can maintain the current form that’s infinitely better than when Essendon thrashed them by 50 points at the MCG in round 11.
“They’re a really good side, they handled themselves pretty well against Sydney which is a tough ask at the best of times, especially at the SCG. So it’s going to be a really tough game,’’ he said.
“They’re very good clearance-wise, getting that ball outside to their numbers and if you get the game on their terms, they’re capable of hurting us. So, we’ve got to make sure defensively we’re attuned and get the game based in a manner that we would like.
“Obviously, (Jake) Carlisle might be under some doubt, (Patrick) Ambrose is obviously out. But the thing about Essendon is that they have a lot of depth in that area. Young (Michael) Hurley can swing back and forward, they have a young kid Tayte Pears in the seconds who could quite easily come in.’’
While Hardwick is rapt for injury-restricted Nathan Foley to finally reach his 150th AFL game, he’s quick to temper any extra motivation for the team from that personal milestone.
“I couldn’t think of a more deserving individual. He has been through a lot. He came from a rookie list, the backblocks of Colac, we like to say. He has had significant injury system and for him to reach 150 is great, but I’ve got no doubt his best footy is still in front of him,’’ he said.
“I’m not sure it means too much. We’ve got (Matt) Thomas playing his 100th and they’re both very important players for us who bring a lot. But once that ball’s bounced, the players just focus on their job and the role they play.’’
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