RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick labelled the dying minutes of Friday night's one-point loss to Collingwood as "unintelligent" football from his side.
 
The Tigers let an 11-point lead slip in the last two minutes at the MCG, with the Magpies pouncing on skill errors and poor decisions to claim the win with just four seconds remaining.
 
Among the decisions criticised on Friday night was Ty Vickery's choice to centre the ball, rather than take a shot and soak up time with three minutes to play.   
 
Hardwick said his players knew better and simply didn't make the right calls at the right times to seal the result.
 
"Stuff like that, which is situational and the players know better," the coach said of Vickery's decision to play on.
 
"Shaun Grigg, with a minute and a half to go, has a long shot from outside 50 and we play on from a situation like that … we never do that.
 
"You can be in front for a period of time, but when you beat yourself with smarts it's probably really disappointing.
 
"I thought we played some really unintelligent footy towards the end … it's easy to individualise but we should never have been in that situation."
 
Hardwick said he had put a spare man behind the ball in the final two minutes, but his players hadn't utilised it, instead kicking long down the line.
 
He conceded his team had left itself open by failing to put the Magpies away during the second quarter when they dominated possession but kicked just 1.6.
 
"There are some learning points from it, and unfortunately you'd rather do the learning points from it with the four points," he said.  
 
"It's a tough game … but we've got to battle and hang tough and get four points back. We've got to get back on track."
 
The Tigers face Adelaide at the MCG next Saturday and appear no closer to regaining vice-captain Brett Deledio, who remains "unlikely" with a groin injury.
 
Defender Dylan Grimes could also miss with a "tendon issue behind the knee" that will require scans over the weekend.