As the fallout of a terrible start to the season grows, Richmond leader Alex Rance has declared the Tigers are "too coachable" and need "smarter players", while the wife of Trent Cotchin has rushed to the skipper's defence.
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Having limped over the line against Carlton in round one, the Tigers have lost their past three games, the latest a 68-point thumping from the West Coast Eagles at Domain Stadium on Friday night.
The Tigers now face a challenging month against Melbourne, Port Adelaide (MCG), Hawthorn, Sydney (MCG) and Fremantle (Domain Stadium), and desperately need to address what coach Damien Hardwick said was a "broken" process.
Ruckman Ivan Maric will push for his first senior match of the season this week but Brett Deledio still has work to do in recovering from a quad injury. Deledio, who had urged the team's senior players to embrace the added responsibility, was due to step up his training on Saturday where he hoped to not endure pain while kicking.
Rance, who was one of the Tigers' best players against the Eagles by keeping Josh Kennedy to two goals, said on Saturday the Tigers had over-used the handball and the defeat had been "extremely frustrating".
The Tigers had 33 more handballs than their opponents, and particularly struggled to clear the ball from defensive 50.
"I think we are a bit too coachable. Sometimes we get in our heads, with the new zones that are coming in on those narrower grounds, you feel like you have to handball through them," Rance said.
"It might have been an off-the-cuff comment which happens during the week and then it gets stuck in your head a little bit rather than just playing the game. That's what we need to develop as a team – smarter players who can really assess what's required at different stages of the game.
"At the moment, we are just not doing that as well."
Former Richmond assistant coach David King said the Tigers were guilty of a "dysfunctional defensive game", had made "laughable errors late" and "they froze down back – they couldn't execute out of the backline."
Hardwick admitted after the win over the Blues the Tigers were still trying to find the right man to fill the rebounding role from half-back – an issue which continues to haunt them. Chris Yarran had been pencilled in for that but he remains on the injury list for several weeks.
What has also emerged as a concern is the Tigers' first-half efforts. They coughed up 72 points against the Crows last week, and 73 against the Eagles.
The Tigers had only eight inside 50s to half-time – their worst ever and the second lowest since Champion Data began recording the statistic in 2000. They would finish with only 27.
Amid the drama and what shapes as another tumultuous week at Punt Rd, Cotchin's wife, Brooke, defended the star midfielder on her Instagram account after the loss.
"Every week you go out and give your all. To have to listen to the constant criticism you have had to put up with especially of late has been incredibly hard," she said.
"Those closest to you know just how dedicated you are to your football club and teammates on and off the field. As a wise man once told me 'People's opinions are none of our business'. We love you and are proud of you".
A photo posted by Brooke Cotchin (@blkcotchin) on Apr 15, 2016 at 6:04am PDT
Rance insisted the Tigers had an "amazing game plan" but they were just not executing it.
"You can't be too rigid with your game plans. What is it – big paddocks and strong fences? We have got certain elements of our game plan which are quite structured and then other elements where we have creative players," he said on SEN.
"Football is such an open field sport. It is not like NBA and NFL where you can have set plays that one player can win the game for you ... that's what I love about our game plan, that it is not too rigid.
"It is not at the point we are not thinking for ourselves – we need to develop that thinking power because that's what the good players, the good teams do."
It has to be asked footy fans - will @Richmond_FC play finals this year?— Real Footy (AFL) (@agerealfooty) April 15, 2016
Cotchin (29 disposals) and forward Jack Riewoldt were among the handful of Tigers who impressed.
The skipper on Saturday defended Hardwick, declaring he was frustrated "by the way people throw 'Dimma' (Hardwick) under the bus" and it was time the players lifted.
Hardwick believes his team can still make the finals. The Tigers began poorly last year but would go on and win 13 of their last 16 matches. In 2014, they won nine straight matches to grab a spot in the finals.
