RICHMOND’S errant goalkicking has coach Damien Hardwick concerned after wasteful periods of play in the win over the Brisbane Lions on Thursday night.
The Tigers scored a wasteful 2.8 in the first quarter at the Gabba while holding the Lions to just one point. When the Lions took the lead just after half-time it appeared the Tigers may pay dearly for the lapse.
The Tigers steadied for a 43-point win.
“It [bad goalkicking] has been a common theme (and) we’re trying to address it the best we can," Hardwick said.
"We’re having a lot of shots but they’re not going through the big sticks. Even last week ... we kicked 1.4 with two out on the full (in the first quarter).
“What you find is you only get a certain amount of momentum in games, so we’re just not making the most of that, which we’re continuing to work on."
Despite Jack Riewoldt (four goals) finding form after the demotion of fellow forward Tyrone Vickery, Hardwick said he’d keep his options open on the make-up of the Tigers’ attack.
“Those three (tall forwards) individually have been playing OK,” Hardwick said.
“Collectively, it just wasn’t working for us. First possession inside fifty was poor, our score percentage was poor, we just had to make a change.
“Ty unfortunately was the guy who went out. It wasn’t the result of form, it was more team balance.
"He’s an important player for us. We’ve got some stocks below and if we need to call on three talls we’ll get him back. We’ll keep turning it around and see what happens.”
Riewoldt and Trent Cotchin both came to the fore in the third quarter on Thursdasy night, scoring at crucial times to help the Tigers retake the lead and set up a dominant last term.
"Quality players come to the forefront when you need them," Hardwick said.
"Trent’s a bullocking worker in close and then when you get the ball outside he’s just as effective.
“We banked some points and that’s the important thing. It wasn’t pretty, we probably freed it up a little bit late, when they got a little bit tired, it made it a little bit easier to score.
“I always thought our boys would come back, we just had to get a few set ups right to get the game back on our terms which eventually we did.”
Dustin Martin, playing mostly forward, kicked three goals and Hardwick hoped to see him repeat the impressive display in the weeks ahead. Richmond faces the tough task of Hawthorn and Geelong over the next fortnight.
“He’s just one of those guys that we think’s very versatile," Hardwick said.
"He reminds me a bit (of) Mark Ricciuto, a guy that played half-back, midfield or forward.
“He’s only gonna get better and better. He had six shots on goal tonight and one taken away from a free kick. If he does that every week it's going to be a good result.”
