Richmond coach Damien Hardwick came away from the Tigers’ final pre-season game satisfied, overall, with what he saw.
The Tigers lost to North Melbourne by 14 points in a high-scoring game, after trailing by as much as 38 points at one stage, but Hardwick took several positives out of the match.
“We were really happy with the hit-out that we got,” Hardwick said.
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“Obviously it was a pretty high intensity game . . . It was Round 1 intensity – quick and action packed.
“Probably defensively both sides were a bit open at stages, but we got a lot out of it.
“We came out unscathed. We got some players in some good form. So, overall, it’s a tick.
“We would have loved to have won the game, but the fact of the matter is we didn’t.
“We’ve got some areas to improve, but there’s certainly some things we like also.
“Overall, it was a good hit-out . . . It was a high-quality game and I was really happy with what we got out of it.”
Watch highlights from Richmond's pre-season match against North Melbourne
Hardwick also was pleased with the performance of Richmond’s captain Trent Cotchin, who was playing his first pre-season game after recovering from hamstring soreness.
“Probably the first five or 10 minutes, he was reflective of the side. He was a little bit fumbly under the heat early,” Hardwick said.
“But after that, I think he had 14 contested possessions in 60% game time, which is great. And some of his ground-ball gathers, and then getting out of traffic, was very good.”
