Key Richmond defender Alex Rance believes the Tigers can take some significant positives out of last Saturday’s 20-point loss to Fremantle at the MCG.

Richmond responded to its second-half capitulation against North Melbourne the previous week by winning the contested-possession, inside-50 and tackle count, and having the same number of scoring shots as the highly-rated Dockers’ outfit, but was hurt badly on the scoreboard at times through costly errors.

“Last week was a good half, this week’s probably a good three quarters,” Rance told ‘Roar Vision’ post-match.

“It’s still deflating, still very frustrating . . .

“We had some good passages of play, we just didn’t finish off as well as we would have liked to.  But I think the signs are definitely pointing in the right direction.

“I think we’ve shown that’s our minimum standard now.  We can put it up with the premiership contenders.

“What hurts us most is that we do play such good footy in those three quarters, but it’s just those little passages of play that let us down . . .

“I think it’s amazing how much a slow start to the season can put pressure on yourselves and the team.  You feel like every error’s compounded. 

“That’s the hurdle we’ve just got to cross.  We’ve got to drop the emotional baggage.  Let’s get our mojo back and get our season half respectable because we want to get back on the winner’s list.”