FRUSTRATED Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says the Tigers played "dumb" football during Saturday night's disastrous loss to Port Adelaide and failed to execute fundamental skills that a local team would expect to nail.
The Tigers (1-5) watched their season slip further away from any hope of salvation after stumbling to a fifth straight defeat, this time by 35 points, in an uninspiring contest against a gritty Power outfit at the MCG.
Richmond won the contested possession count (+21) and clearances (+6) but only managed eight goals from 54 inside 50s against a Port Adelaide team similarly lacking in self-belief.
WATCH: Damien Hardwick's full post-match press conference
"Within the contest we were OK (but) we were beaten outside through spread," Hardwick said post-match.
"Offensively we couldn't get anything going, we had no run off half-back and were bombing the ball inside 50.
"We had a plan in place and at no stage did we put that plan in place."
Asked if the Tigers played "dumb football", Hardwick replied: "Dumb's an interesting comment … it probably was, really."
Despite giving his troops a "rev-up" at half-time and coaching from the sidelines during the third quarter, the Tigers couldn't put any scoreboard pressure on the Power, with their shocking skills and inaccurate goalkicking proving costly.
"The effort's there, we're just not good enough at the moment," Hardwick said.
WATCH: Tigers rack up the turnovers
"We're not executing the things we know and should do. We're missing kicks, missing handballs, missing tackles – just the fundamentals of the game and the things a local football side should be doing, we're not doing.
"Execution is such a key component of this game and if you don't do it properly you get burnt.
"We'll go through it again, it's been a common trend. We're inexperienced in certain areas but so are they.
"It's not a youth thing, we're just not quite good enough at the moment."
Troy Chaplin comes to terms with the Tigers' loss to Port. Picture: AFL Media
However, Hardwick pointed to the absences of Nick Vlastuin and Dylan Grimes as critical losses from the Tigers' middle age bracket, leaving too many youngsters asked to deliver above their "pay grade".
"(With) Vlastuin not playing, Grimes not playing, we're missing a couple of those guys that are really important pieces in the puzzle for us," he said.
"We're probably asking guys to step up a little bit above what their pay grade is at the moment.
"But the reality is it comes back to me and our coaching staff – we're the ones who have got to drive the message across and make sure it is getting across."
Richmond is staring down the barrel of being three wins outside the top eight after just six rounds if West Coast overcomes Collingwood in Perth on Sunday.
It doesn't get any easier for the Tigers either, with a wounded Hawthorn and the flying Sydney Swans to come.
"We've got a big game, Friday night footy versus Hawthorn, and we really embarrassed ourselves tonight I thought with the way we played," Hardwick said.
"We've got to bounce back and play with some dignity next week because at the moment we're well short of where we need to be."
Souring the loss for the Tigers was a suspected punctured lung suffered in the first quarter by Kane Lambert, who was sent to hospital in an ambulance.
Hardwick said late withdrawal Kamdyn McIntosh (corked leg) should be fit to face Hawthorn, with the Tigers taking a cautious approach with the youngster after two weeks off training.
