Richmond assistant coach Ross Smith has refused to use the Tigers’ growing injury list as an excuse for the unsatisfactory effort against Melbourne last Friday night.

“Every side’s got injuries at the moment, so we’ve got to be better than that,” Smith said on ‘The Richmond Review’ immediately after the match. 

“We’ve got to cover those guys with our fit players.

“Our better players, our leaders, all need to stand up . . . We were found wanting in that area tonight. 

“It’s something that we’ll certainly be keen to address . . .”

Smith, however, was confident the Tigers could quickly bounce back.

“I think if Melbourne taught us anything, they showed us how to play real hard football.  If we can emulate that, and add that to our game, we think we certainly can,” he said.

“Our best football’s certainly good enough . . .”