Damien Hardwick praised the recent record of thrillers between Richmond and Port Adelaide, with the Tigers coach pleased with his team despite the narrow loss.

"I thought Port were terrific. They had their chances to bury us in the second quarter, but I thought our boys fought back really valiantly and had some chances to win, but just couldn't nail the ones when we needed to," Hardwick said.

"There were a couple of things. I thought there were a few undisciplined free kicks we gave away down the field, just a couple of poor turnovers we don't normally make when we're humming, but overall, I couldn't question our boys' intent and effort. 

"It was a terrific game of footy, I thought. Both sides played a pretty hard, tough brand after disappointing results last week."

After leaving the coaches' box after the final siren, Hardwick was caught on camera having a brief exchange with a Port Adelaide fan.

"He offered me a tissue, which I thought was a bit harsh," he said.

"We've won three out of the last four flags mate, I'm not sure whether I need a tissue."

The Tigers are now 2-2 after back-to-back losses.