Richmond coach Damien Hardwick was a proud man after watching his undermanned team dismantle Fremantle at Optus Stadium yesterday despite again being beset with injuries during the match.
The Tigers’ No. 1 ruckman Toby Nankervis sustained a groin injury and promising, young midfielder Jack Ross damaged his foot.
Both players sat out the second half, but their teammates once more responded to adversity in superb, spirited style.
“It was a great win,” Hardwick said.
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“To win interstate with a couple of guys down in the second half, and show the effort and intent our players did, was a terrific result.
“It’s always tough to come interstate, especially against a side such as Freo that’s playing some pretty good footy . . .
“We were disappointed obviously with the game last week (v Bulldogs), and we spoke to the players about that.
“Our leaders – the few we’ve got left at the moment – really stood up. Shane Edwards set the scene very early, I thought.
“We managed to get the game on our terms, especially in a hostile environment such as this.
“You want to start well and quell the crowd, and I thought our guys did a pretty good job of that.
“Freo obviously fought back. They’re a proud footy club, well-coached, well-organised. We knew they’d come, but for our guys to be able to hold them off was a great effort.”
The absence of Nankervis in the ruck forced a major reshuffle of the magnets on the Tigers’ coaching board.
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“I’m pretty lucky I’ve got some really good assistant coaches who came out with a plan,” Hardwick said.
“Obviously Noah (Balta) is a young, first-year player, and it was great to see his effort and intent in the ruck. And then Nathan Broad who pinch-hit there, too.
“I thought we looked really solid.
“Although we lost ‘Nank’ (Toby Nankervis), which was disappointing, I thought our ability to hunt in and around the contest certainly lifted after that.”
