RICHMOND was made to look like a “bunch of schoolboys” according to coach Damien Hardwick, who could do little more than shake his head as his injury-ravaged side succumbed to a hungry North Melbourne at Blundstone Arena on Friday night.
Hammered to the tune of 70 points by the table-topping Kangaroos, the Tigers were never in the hunt in Hobart and suffered a horrendous injury toll to add even more misery to their disastrous trip south.
“The fact of the matter is I thought they blitzed us early and we didn’t stand up to the pressure,” Hardwick told reporters post-match.
“We fumbled the ball and didn’t handle the conditions well as compared to North, and were made to look like a bunch of schoolboys.”
Things didn’t start well for the Tigers when they lost Dylan Grimes to a hamstring strain right before the match, but when Steven Morris ruptured his ACL just 10 minutes into the opening term the writing was already on the wall.
A failed concussion test by Nick Vlastuin and ankle injury to Ben Griffiths meant the Tigers played much of the second half with just one fit player on the bench, but by then the game was well beyond their reach having conceded six goals in the third term, including five majors in a 10-minute period just after half-time.
“From our point of view, after the first quarter, centre bounce - I thought we got smashed,” Hardwick said. “In that third quarter I think they kicked six goals from memory, (and) we just couldn’t get the ball out of the centre bounce.
“Centre bounce I thought we got annihilated at various stages.
“I just thought they outhunted us and out-tackled us. We tackled well inside our forward 50, but through the middle of the ground we didn’t.
“They’re 10 and one for a reason. They win contested ball, they win tackle counts.”
Richmond host Gold Coast at the MCG next weekend in what looms as a winnable match and, while injury is certain to force his hand to some extent, Hardwick suggested there would be plenty of movement at the selection table following Friday’s showing.
“We’ve got to make some changes, obviously, because it was nowhere near good enough,” he said.
“The situation is that if you play like that I can’t pick the same side.
“It’s a disappointing performance. Make no bones about it. We were very disappointed in the fundamentals of the game and it’s unacceptable.”
Tigers looked 'like a bunch of schoolboys': Hardwick
Richmond was made to look like a “bunch of schoolboys” according to coach Damien Hardwick, as his side succumbed to a hungry North Melbourne at Blundstone Arena on Friday night.
