RICHMOND assistant coach Brian Royal has defended the way the Tigers iced the clock in the dying moments of the club's nail-biting four-point win over Essendon at the MCG on Saturday.

With just minutes to go, the Tigers led by 10 points, but four Essendon misses got the margin down to one straight kick. Joel Bowden rushed a behind, then after standing in the goal square until told to play-on, stepped back over the line to rush another behind, eating up enough time to win the game.

While the events are sure to reignite the debate over whether deliberately rushed behinds should be worth three points, as they are in the NAB Cup in the pre-season, Royal said he was more than happy with the way Bowden handled the situation.

"It just shows the experience of Joel Bowden," he said after the match.

"Joel was on the bench and came on with I think two or three minutes to go – he knew how long there was left in the game.

"We thought it was fantastic, what Joel did. If you're going to ice the clock, we knew if you're going to lose by one point, or if you're going to lose by five points, what's the difference?

"I just spoke to Joel then – he was prepared to do it a couple more times. I think we iced it for 45 seconds that way.

"We're about winning four points, and if it's doing what Joel did … I mean, it's smart play. You couldn't tell me if Essendon were in the same position, they wouldn't have done the same thing."

Ruckman Troy Simmonds was terrific all day, and he said he was thrilled Bowden was back on the ground for the last minute.

"I was glad the ball was in his hands – he's got a good head on him, Joel, and he's very experienced," he said.