FOLLOWING the 62-point loss to Geelong at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, Richmond coach Damien Hardwick was left to rue a disappointing first half where the Tigers could only manage one goal.

"We got our hands on the ball but the Geelong pressure was outstanding and just forced us into some mistakes and they capitalised … they got numbers around the ball and got it going the other way," he said.

"The first half was really disappointing. We were down by 10 goals at half-time and it ends up that at the end of the match. That's it in a nutshell."

Also souring the loss was the injury to Chris Newman, who was substituted out of the match in the first quarter with a serious knee injury. The Tigers' skipper will undergo scans to find out the full extent of the injury.

"We hope it's not that serious but we will assess that later in the week," Hardwick said.

"It's disappointing because he was in good form early and to play just 10 minutes of the match is always going to hurt when your skipper goes down."

The Tigers also lost youngster Jake Batchelor early in the first quarter with a shoulder injury, further compounding Hardwick's headaches deep in defence as Geelong romped to their 14th win against Richmond from their previous 15 outings.

"We just can't take a trick with our back six at the moment. To lose two back rotations in the first quarter [meant] we were shuffling players around," Hardwick said.

"We had Matthew White play down there who hasn't played there all year and [even] Jake King went down there at stages. We just couldn't find the right match-ups."

Shane Tuck, who came into the side for his first match since the round 10 loss to Port Adelaide, was among the Tigers' best, finishing with 32 possessions and five clearances in a display that pleased his coach.

Hardwick defended his decision to leave Tuck on the sidelines, citing team balance as the crucial factor as to why the 29-year old has managed just five games this season despite eye-catching performances in the VFL.

"It's more about trying to get the best fit for the side. Obviously with the amount of midfielders we have going through there, it's just a matter of you can't have too many inside midfielders," he said.

"At the end of the day 'Tucky' played his role today and did it very well. But with [Dustin] Martin, [Trent] Cotchin and [Nathan] Foley, which one do I leave out?"

"But 'Tucky' to his credit has been a star. The way he accepts things, he knows where he is at and he comes in and he performed a very good role today."

The Tigers have the bye before heading west to take on the Eagles in round 20 and Hardwick implored his players to finish the season on a high note.

"We just need to get some wins. There have been some areas that we have been really happy with this year, there are still some areas that we have got to improve to get where we need to go," he said.

"That's our aim."

Hardwick said youngsters Matt Dea and Jayden Post were in line for a return to the senior side.