RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick was lost for words after his side's 52-point fade out against Adelaide on Saturday, after they rocketed out of the blocks in the first term.

The Tigers looked hot early in soggy conditions, smashing the hapless Crows in every key performance indicator, only to watch the home side turn a 33-point deficit at quarter-time into a 19-point victory.

Richmond's quarter-time lead was the result of 39 more possessions, nine more marks, nine more tackles and seven more inside 50s. Yet after the main break the Tigers could only manage three goals to Adelaide's nine and recorded 19 fewer contested possessions.

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"To lose the way we did towards the end of the game was really disappointing, we just couldn't win the contests," Hardwick said.

"[There's] not a great deal to say to be honest."

Hardwick said the contest tightened up after quarter time, admitting the Crows were simply harder at the football.

But he conceded the Tigers were left to rue missed opportunities.

"At the end of the day we had more scoring shots than Adelaide," he said.

"We've just got to make sure that when we do have a chance to convert, we convert. We had more inside 50s, more forward-half turnovers; we had a lot of stats going our way.

"In the last quarter there were a number of one-on-one contests in which Adelaide were just harder than us."

While there wasn't much to say about the Tigers' drop-off in the second half, Hardwick was just as speechless when asked about Taylor Walker's sling tackle on Steven Morris.

Morris was tackled by Walker deep in Adelaide's attack and clearly dumped into the ground on his head.

But rather than report Walker, the umpire penalised Morris for holding the ball.

Understandably cautious about voicing any criticisms of the umpire's decision, Hardwick took a leaf out of Ronan Keating's book and said all he had to without really saying much at all.

"I can't comment on that …I think we both know the answer to that one," he said when asked of the incident.

Richmond's loss was further soured by a knee injury to key player Jake King, who looked in a world of pain when he was assisted form the ground in the second quarter.

Hardwick said the early prognosis was that King had injured the same medial ligament that he damaged while playing for Australia against Ireland late last year.

The injury was a huge blow for the Tigers, as King had registered 13 disposals and contributed five inside 50s before be was subbed out of the game at half-time.

Harry Thring covers news for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.