Richmond coach Damien Hardwick believes the Tigers’ recent loss to Carlton was the “kick up the backside” they needed to set themselves up for a first AFL finals campaign in 12 years.
Ahead of Sunday’s sell-out elimination final against the Blues at the MCG, Hardwick said the round 21 clash taught the Tigers a lot.
They led by five goals at quarter-time only to lose by 10 points, conceding 13 goals to six after the first break.
Lessons learnt from that encounter have put the Tigers in a strong position to advance beyond week one of the playoffs.
“It was a good kick up the backside,” said Hardwick.
“Even though we kicked eight goals in that first quarter, we were defensively not to the standard we needed to be.
“I think it smoothed over a few cracks and I think our record since then has been pretty good.
“Defensively as a side, it’s an area we’ve improved enormously not only over the course of 12 months but in three to four years.
“We certainly look forward to taking that into the elimination final this week.”
He said Richmond were below par in other areas in that match, with skipper Trent Cotchin and midfielder Dustin Martin uncharacteristically off their game.
“We probably had some things that didn’t go our way that day,” Hardwick said.
“We certainly got a look at what they did and how they put work into those players.
“Whether they come out the same, who knows, but at least we had a look at it some three weeks ago.”
Cotchin himself said that poor attitude had contributed to the lacklustre defensive performance.
He felt that if the Tigers tightened their defence and applied pressure to the Blues, their own offence would flourish.
“We’ve got a lot of talent but if we don’t stick to the way we want to play defensively, little things can open up, cracks can appear and teams can score against you,” Cotchin said.
“That will be main our focus.”
Hardwick said the coaching box had also learnt a lot from the Blues game and felt they were too slow to adjust to steady the Tigers.
The Tigers are set to be at full strength with goal-kicking ace Jack Riewoldt and veteran Chris Newman certainties to play.
Both missed the Tigers’ win over Essendon on Saturday night, with Riewoldt battling back and knee issues and Newman an ankle injury that has seen him spend three weeks on the sidelines.
Former skipper Newman, who has had to wait 233 games for his first final, is back in full training.
Hardwick also has to fit Shane Edwards back into the team after his one-week suspension, with White, veteran midfielder Shane Tuck, back-up ruckman Orren Stephenson and promoted rookie Ricky Petterd possible casualties.
The coach said he hoped that star Carlton midfielder Chris Judd lined up after three matches out with a knee injury.
“I hope he plays, I’d like to have Carlton at their best, that way we get a great game.
“We certainly look forward to the challenge of taking on Carlton at their best.”
