DAMIEN Hardwick spent his first game as former Richmond coach tucked up on the couch, beer in hand, coaching jacket on and his dog next to him.

He watched on as both Richmond and Yartapuulti struggled to find the middle of the sticks, the Power leading from the 13th minute of the first quarter to take out a 10-point win.

TIGERS v POWER Full match coverage and stats

The Tigers didn't drop their heads, but were a step behind for most of the match, struggling to take advantage of their periods of dominance in the 10.17 (77) to 9.13 (67) result at the MCG.

The ephemeral nature of sport was never more evident than on Sunday. Last weekend, Hardwick had presided over what only he knew was his last game in charge, a heart-breaking loss in Dreamtime at the 'G.

Just eight days later, the Richmond army trudged up the hill from the station in the rain, walking past the Punt Road headquarters and ready to watch their side under interim coach Andrew McQualter, as the Sir Doug Nicholls' two-round celebrations concluded against Yartapuulti.

The people in charge may transition in and out, but the clubs and the game continue to roll on.

Dylan Grimes and Noah Balta saw off the opening salvo from Yartapuulti, but the repeat inside 50s and clearance capitalisation proved too much to handle, the Power easing away to a 25-point lead at quarter-time.

Zak Butters almost picked up where he left off after a best-afield performance against Narrm last week, showing unnerving confidence in taking on and burning off multiple opponents, but his early disposals were a little askew with a wet footy.

Butters steadied as the match progressed to finish as Yartapuulti's best once again, with 32 disposals and four clearances.

The Power were simply able to move the ball far too easily in dangerous patches throughout the game, finding plenty of room down the middle of the field and linking up with well-placed kicks.

Richmond had its chances in the second term but kicked seven behinds – including a run of four in a row – and it took the hardest shot of the lot, a tight Tim Taranto snap, to cut the margin to 11 points.

After a wet morning, the game had been relatively dry (grass aside), until the rain came down at half-time and into the third quarter.

Miles Bergman was thrown forward for the second half in the place of Ryan Burton, giving the Tigers a different look to deal with, and Willem Drew's soccer opening broke a run of seven straight behinds for Yartapuulti, stretching from the first to the third terms.

For all the talk about Taranto's disposal this year, he kicked two of the best goals of an error-strewn game, as well as the opening major of the last quarter to close within two points. The recruit finished with 33 touches and four goals.

Aliir Aliir well and truly had the better of a sore and out-of-form Jack Riewoldt, Toby Nankervis worked his way into the match beautifully, relishing the slower, wet conditions in the third term, while the class of Connor Rozee and Dan Houston were key to the Power's eighth straight win.

Eight straight for the Power
Yartapuulti has now won a whopping eight games in a row, dating back to its Showdown loss to Adelaide. The Power have won both at home and on the road, and have shown no fear in the face of tight games. They've finished the round in second place and host Hawthorn next week.

Twelve-point turnaround
With the Tigers threatening in the third quarter, Bergman appeared to have given the Power some breathing space with a well-timed snap. The goal umpire immediately adjudged it a major, despite the howls from Richmond players of "touched". No review was called, but the automatic check by the ARC saw the players dragged back from their centre bounce set-up for a kick-in. The ball bounced down the other end, eventually resulting in a Samson Ryan goal, the margin then at five points.

Thanks, Dimma
At the 17th-minute mark of the first term, the Richmond army stood as one with a round of applause as a thank you to their former coach, although it fell slightly flat when the Power's Ollie Lord took a set-shot in the middle of it. There was a reshuffle in the coaches' box, Andrew McQualter taking the senior reins, Kane Lambert – who retired just last year – promoted from the icy confines of the bench as development coach to midfield, and VFL coach Steve Morris doing double duty as runner.

RICHMOND               1.3     3.10     6.12     9.13 (67)
YARTAPUULTI          5.4      5.9      7.14     10.17 (77)

GOALS 
Richmond: Taranto 4, Martin 2, Ryan, Clarke, Bolton
Yartapuulti: Wines, Mead, McEntee, Lord, Horne-Francis, Finlayson, Drew, Byrne-Jones, Butters, Burton

BEST 
Richmond: Taranto, Prestia, Bolton, Short, Balta, Nankervis
Yartapuulti: Butters, Houston, Aliir, Rozee, Horne-Francis, Finlayson

INJURIES 
Richmond: Nil
Yartapuulti: Nil

SUBSTITUTES 
Richmond: Judson Clarke (replaced Samson Ryan at three-quarter time)
Yartapuulti: Francis Evans (replaced Jackson Mead at three-quarter time) 

Crowd: 30,357 at the MCG