Interim Richmond coach Andrew McQualter has heaped praise on the Tiger players for the resilience they displayed to overcome St Kilda’s challenge in last night’s Round 14 clash at the MCG.

The Saints kicked the first four goals of the game before Richmond fought back admirably and took control.

Then, during the last quarter, the Tigers again had to dig deep, with St Kilda surging in the wet conditions and only a goal separating the sides.

They absorbed all the pressure and kicked two late goals (the only two goals of the term) to secure a spirited 20-point victory.

“It was a great win,” McQualter said in his post-match press conference.

“We were challenged multiple times and, obviously, the second half became just a slog. The fundamentals of the game really came into play.

“I thought we looked pretty tired at the end of the third quarter, so the ability to fight through that last quarter and stand up was huge.”

That made it three wins from four games for Richmond since McQualter took over as coach from Damien Hardwick following his resignation, with the Tigers now sitting just outside the top eight.

“It’s been a good month of footy. Even the Port Adelaide game where we didn’t win, we were competitive, and they’re playing some great football at the moment,” McQualter said.

“It’s been enjoyable, people just executing their roles.

“The method of how we’re playing hasn’t changed significantly, which is there to see.

“It’s good to get some results, but certainly lots of areas in our game that we’re still looking to improve . . .

“We know we can still play finals, mathematically, so that’s always our aim.

“But the way we live is each day we’re just trying to get better.

“Whether that ends up with us making finals or not, we’ll just keep with that focus and see where it ends up.”