A FRUSTRATED Damien Hardwick was satisfied Richmond banked its eighth victory of the year despite having to win "a little ugly" at the MCG on Sunday.
The Tigers trailed at quarter-time, but dominated almost every key statistic as they eventually cleared out to a 26-point success over a dogged Carlton line-up.
They remain in sixth place, level on wins with Melbourne and next opponent Port Adelaide, which hosts Richmond at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
"I never really felt we were probably challenged, if that makes sense," Hardwick said.
"The way we dominated the game, we always looked the stronger side, so I was more frustrated we couldn't get the scoreboard effort.
"I don't know how many marks inside 50 we had and what our set-shot conversion was, but it certainly wasn't to the level we'd like today.
"That's what happens sometimes in this game. You get frustrated and win a little bit ugly at stages and we probably did that today."
Hardwick continues to find creative ways to compensate for his lack of tall options, with 181cm Jason Castagna proving a handy full-forward, particularly in the opening half.
He also put 186cm Josh Caddy into the ruck at stages to spell Toby Nankervis as he sought unsuccessfully to curb Blues big man Matthew Kreuzer's influence.
The Tigers are without Todd Elton (shoulder), Ben Griffiths (concussion) and Shaun Hampson (back), leaving Hardwick the option of playing the likes of veteran Ivan Maric – who was an emergency – or rookies Ivan Soldo and Mabior Chol.
"In an ideal world, we'd probably prefer (a second tall forward alongside Jack Riewoldt)," Hardwick said.
"We have got some players, but unfortunately most of those guys have been probably injured for the majority of the year.
"So we've had to look at some other areas where we can try and get an advantage."
Richmond's ability to generate eight goals out of defence both pleased and surprised Hardwick, given much of its scoring this year came from its famed forward-half pressure.
The result leaves Hardwick's men potentially playing for a top-four spot next weekend against the fourth-ranked Power.
"They were outstanding yesterday, weren't they, versus Collingwood, but, in saying that, I thought Collingwood showed some signs, but just couldn't get on the scoreboard," he said.
"They played a real direct brand of footy – probably a little bit similar to us, in a way. They don't have a high-possession rate, but certainly go forward at a quick rate.
"All their forwards looked incredibly damaging yesterday, so we're going to have some headaches down there, but I'm really confident with our back six, so it's going to be a great challenge for us."
