Richmond coach Damien Hardwick will rue his side's work around clearances in Saturday's loss to the Western Bulldogs, which the Dogs won 41-26, along with 16-8 at centre clearances.

The Tigers couldn't hold onto a 14-point half-time lead, going on to lose by five points on a rainy Saturday afternoon at the MCG.

"There's some things we liked but there's some things we're disappointed with," Hardwick said.

"You've got to beat the Dogs in clearance, that's their one wood. Today we were disappointing in that facet of the game.

"Centre clearance is so important on a wet day, we go down 8-16. It summarises the game really. You're attacking from the back half."

The result left the Tigers with only one win from their opening four games, while they have some fresh concerns with Jack Graham injuring his left hamstring, while Lynch spent time off the ground too.

Hardwick also clarified utilising former skipper Trent Cotchin as the sub was always their plan.

Richmond also rested veteran forward Jack Riewoldt, with Hardwick saying Geelong was a blueprint for player management in 2022 when it managed older players like Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood before winning the flag.

"It's a copycat league, with the way they did it," Hardwick said.

"Some of our players are getting that way inclined with their age.

"We've got guys that are mid-30s so they're not going to be able to play every game. The players have got a good understanding of that.

"We want to keep the good players going for longer, so it means they're not going to play 22 games. The game is as hard as it's ever been.

"We can sit there and keep trying to do it and we can keep getting injuries or we can try manage those guys and get them right for hopefully the point end of the season."