Tigers out to stop mid-game AFL lapses

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says his side need to stop mid-game lapses if they're to climb up the AFL ladder.

There's no shortage of statistics or issues you could pluck out to describe Richmond's woes early in the AFL season.

Coach Damien Hardwick is most concerned with one: mid-game lapses.

Hardwick feels the Tigers have already showed this season they're capable of playing impressive football.

"We know we're not as far away as what a lot of other people think. There's a lot of areas that we're doing well in," Hardwick said on Thursday.

But until his charges stop a worrying trend of dropping their bundle during matches and improve a 2-4 start to the season, Hardwick knows little will change in the court of public opinion.

"Consistency of performance is what drives you up the ladder," he said.

"We're very much in games, we've won a lot of quarters of footy but unfortunately one quarter or a period of 10-15 minutes has let us down.

"15 minutes of poor footy in the third quarter last weekend cost us seven goals.

"The week before it was defence where we weren't quite getting the job done (and Geelong kicked the final four goals of the first half)."

The Tigers will be out to stop a three-game losing streak when they face Collingwood on Sunday, having been defeated by Melbourne, Geelong and North Melbourne in recent weeks.

Hardwick was seething after their 35-point loss to the Kangaroos in Hobart last Saturday, but noted the club's coaching staff had quickly turned their attention to bettering the Magpies.

"You deal with a loss pretty early in the week and then you move on," he said.

"The great thing about our game is unlike the Olympics you get a chance to get a better performance the following week. That's what we're worrying about."

Hardwick was full of respect while describing Collingwood, who are coming off a 41-point loss to the Cats.

"They spread the load really well ... it's not necessarily (Scott) Pendlebury and (Dane) Swan that are doing all the damage," he said.

"They've got some good young players coming through the midfield, but we think this is a really winnable game."


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world