AFTER Richmond lost to West Coast on a Friday night in June last year, Damien Hardwick sat beneath the MCG lauding the 'Weagles Web'.
He made perfect sense then.
This week, however, when rolling out to Tiger fans confused, revisive excuses for a poor start to the season in his media appearances following Richmond's loss to Adelaide last Saturday, he has been less convincing.
This Friday night, the coach could start afresh and:
• Mention half-backs rather than half-steps-back;
• Model emotional control rather than losing it;
• Use West Coast of 2015 as an example for what can be achieved when injuries strike;
• Trust the players to sell the message to supporters through the media;
• And don't ever again make comments about the effect the departure of experienced players is having on Richmond, particularly when those comments don't stand up to even mild scrutiny.
Because Hardwick topped off a pretty ordinary week on Thursday morning when he name-dropped five past players whose experience the club was battling to replace.
"Last year, people forget that we lost Chris Newman, Dan Jackson, Nathan Foley, Ricky Petterd, Chris Knights… we lost a great deal of experience last year and there's a void there," Hardwick said.
Why would that group be relevant to any conversation about what might happen to the Tigers in 2016, let alone round four, 2016?
All coaches want are facts, so here's some facts in light of that comment:
- Collectively those five played 18 games between them in 2015 (with Newman playing 17 of them yet finishing 19th in the club best and fairest).
- Foley played no games (and had been overlooked for selection in the 2013 elimination final). Knights played one, Petterd played one and Jackson had retired before 2014's premiers had even been decided.
Granted, those five players are leaders and role models but they are hardly a tidal wave of departures to sink a team.
Such losses would be described at most clubs as natural turnover and dealt with in 2015.
Chris Newman finished 19th in the Tigers' B&F in his final season. Picture: AFL Media
By contrast, Adelaide coach Don Pyke has barely recognised the loss of last year's best-and-fairest winner Patrick Dangerfield since he became coach.
He just got on with the job and watched the Crows dispose of the Tigers last Saturday.
Don't worry that Dangerfield has finished top six in the past three Brownlow Medal counts and adds his name to the long list of talented departures from the Crows in recent seasons: Kurt Tippett, Phil Davis, Nathan Bock and Jack Gunston.
More pertinent to the Tigers, now, is the loss of injured players Reece Conca, Brett Deledio, Chris Yarran, Ivan Maric and Dylan Grimes.
And it's also the point where the facts end and opinion joins the discussion.
Coaches are entitled to point out the impact of such injuries but must emphasise the positives of particular players being absent.
How about saying that Daniel Rioli, Ben Lennon, Jayden Short, Kane Lambert, Connor Menadue and Corey Ellis present the future of the club?
Although their form might be a little up and down at times, Richmond can develop them into good players as it has shown with Brandon Ellis, Anthony Miles, Nick Vlastuin, Dustin Martin, Alex Rance, Jack Riewoldt, Shane Edwards and Trent Cotchin.
And the absence of senior players gives the team a chance to get games into the others that will make the club better for the next 10 years.
In the meantime, players such as Rance, Riewoldt, Edwards and Brandon Ellis need to match the output of Trent Cotchin and Bachar Houli to help the team over the line.
Hardwick hasn't sold that message well this year. His over-reliance on his stars is one way of interpreting his overblown reaction to injuries during a NAB Challenge game in March.
Hardwick expresses his frustration during the Tigers' final NAB Challenge clash. Picture: AFL Media 
The Eagles suffered a worse fate in round one last year when they added Mitch Brown to a season-ending injury list that included Eric Mackenzie.
Coach Adam Simpson's post-game response: "We've just got to find a way."
Three rounds into a three-year deal, Hardwick doesn't need to spend time raking over old ground.
It's gone, done, history.
By doing so, he has the potential to put out a message that is not reflective of where the group is at and what it could achieve.
Hardwick has done some great things in his time at Richmond, taking them from basket case to a finals team.
He's made mistakes but has got plenty right and the club has shown confidence that he is the man to take them forward.
From all reports away from the microphones, Hardwick is one of football's genuine people.
No one survives as he has at the highest level without the capacity to get on well with people and evolve as a coach.
Most of the time post-game he is genial, measured, and doing his best to speak to his supporters in logical terms.
But the time has come for Hardwick to address some issues in his evolution and his journey as a coach: stop the excuses, don't over-explain, and remember those listening are smart too.
