Richmond coach Damien Hardwick is sick of the current focus on staging in the AFL, which he describes as "farcical".
Star Tigers defender Alex Rance was fined for staging after an incident in round 10 and there was focus on Sydney great Lance Franklin because of free he won in Saturday night's win over West Coast.
Rance was among Richmond's best in the gritty Sunday win over Geelong and Hardwick was asked later about the staging issue.
"It's farcical ... I've over-exaggerated for a free kick, absolutely, and every player within the AFL system has done the same," Hardwick said.
"Unfortunately, they seem to pick on my bloke.
"It's what we do - champions, Buddy Franklin ... all of a sudden the media are all over him.
"Just let the guys play, pull your heads in a bit, I reckon - talk about the game, stop looking for the sensational headlines, it is just ridiculous."
Hardwick also revealed that Richmond had approached the AFL umpires department about their star forward Jack Riewoldt after last week's loss to Port Adelaide.
He said the Port defender appeared to manhandle Riewoldt, but noted all defenders were becoming better at trying to stop opponents.
Riewoldt had a 2-2 free kick count on Sunday and was also among Richmond's best.
Hardwick also gave himself some criticism, saying he erred in dropping Jack Graham for the Port game.
Graham returned against Geelong and racked up a whopping 13 tackles.
Daniel Rioli returned for his first game this season and also made an immediate impression with his tackling.
"The pressure was probably back to its elite level," Hardwick said of the reigning premiers.
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