IN THE past two seasons, Richmond has played in 11 games that have been decided by a goal or less, and won just one of them.

So in the Tigers' hitout against North Melbourne last week, former Hawthorn colleagues Damien Hardwick and Alastair Clarkson took advantage of the relaxed match simulation structure and agreed upon an unusual arrangement. Regardless of what the scoreboard said, the final two minutes of the second and third terms would be played as if the margin was less than a goal.

The siren sounded two minutes early, the umpires shepherded players back to the middle – leading to some confusion among spectators given a North Melbourne player had just missed a shot at goal – and the game restarted.

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Richmond acted as if it was protecting a lead the first time, with North Melbourne taking control for the second.

Wingers set up defensively and then sprinted into the backline after the centre bounce, and tellingly for the Tigers, former skipper Trent Cotchin – who is known for his desperation at key moments – was thrown into the middle after spending the majority of the game forward.

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And the signs at Arden St were positive for the Tigers; there was no score in the two minutes when Richmond was defending a lead, while Dustin Martin kicked a 'match-winning' goal in the second two-minute period, when North started in front.

Given it was Tigers' only unofficial match simulation against another club before the season starts, it was an opportunity they were keen to take as they look to reverse their recent trend of tight losses.

"It's a learning. We were in a lot of close games over the last couple of years, particularly last year," Richmond assistant coach David Teague said.

"If we could turn maybe a couple of those into wins last year, we could have finished top four, give ourselves a great chance. I think every club is looking for those opportunities.

"You do it against yourself and you know what you're doing, but to do it against opposition is where you get a little more feedback and a little more learning. So, we'll review those.

"I think we handled those reasonably well today, but we'll keep growing and getting better."

Collingwood coach Craig McRae – himself a former assistant at Richmond – last year revealed how his side would train for a scenario once or twice a week that involved either protecting a slender lead or trying to overcome a small deficit late in a game.

The Magpies went on an extraordinary run of losing just one of 10 games decided by single figures in the home-and-away season and while they ultimately lost both the qualifying and preliminary finals by less than a kick, McRae said the scenario training had paid off.

"I said to the boys at three-quarter time, we've been here before, here we go, this is what we do," he said after their four-point win over Essendon in round 19. "We do train scenarios a lot, we do match play once or twice a week.

"The last two minutes of match play is all scenario-based; we've got two minutes to go, we're three points behind, what do we do?"

Whether Richmond can reverse its recent run and enjoy a Collingwood-like streak in 2023 remains to be seen.

Richmond's nail-biters

2022
Lost to Sydney by six points
Lost to Geelong by three points
Lost to Gold Coast by two points
Lost to North Melbourne by four points
Drew with Fremantle
Lost to Brisbane by two points

2021
Lost to Port Adelaide by two points
Beat GWS by four points
Lost to West Coast by four points
Lost to Fremantle by four points
Drew with Hawthorn