Damien Hardwick lashes 'ridiculous' truth in Tigers' mauling by Swans

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has given his players a brutal reality check after condemning the team's ill-discipline in Friday night's 44-point hammering by Sydney. The Swans jumped into fourth on the AFL ladder after Tom Papley booted six goals in the 18.14 (122) to 11.12 (78) triumph at Adelaide Oval for Gather Round.

Sydney led by 28 points early in the third term before the Tigers rallied to creep within six points. However, Sydney came home with a wet sail as Papley booted the last five goals to secure a third win of the season.

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Hardwick was left to rue his side's poor discipline after the match, with the Tigers giving away 15 free kicks. Two of those saw Richmond pinged for 50-metre penalties which gifted goals to the Swans.

"Our discipline was incredibly poor," Hardwick said after the match. "A couple of incidents, we just look at and go 'it's ridiculous, what we're doing' so we will chat to the boys about that.

"At the end of the day, it's all good to push and shove. But the reality is you have got to pick the ball up, that's tough footy.

"I am disappointed with that (ill-discipline) and our fans will be and I'm sure the players will be when they see them."

Hardwick said his side had worked hard on its discipline in the lead-up to to the season and that Friday night's display was not indicative of a wider problem at the club. The three-time premiership coach admitted that the brain fades from his players proved costly in a match that was on a knife's edge for much of the contest.

"We certainly had a focus of reducing the number of free kicks against us and it has been a lot better this year," Hardwick said. "But we let ourselves down - two 50-metre penalty goals, and they're just easy goals that you can't defend against. It's disappointing."

Sydney's win came after Richmond's struggling ex-captain Trent Cotchin was subbed out of the game in the third quarter. Cotchin was hooked after an ineffective showing that saw the 33-year-old record just seven disposals.

"It was always probably going to be one of the contest mids who was subbed out," Hardwick said. "So that was who it was, we worked through a process and it was Trent at this stage.

"It's a long season. He's a veteran, he's a very, very good player. We just had to get another player on to the ground."

Sydney denied after contentious score review incident

The Swans would have been relieved that a controversial incident that denied Jake Lloyd a goal, didn't prove costly. The defender was celebrating with his Swans teammates after sending a booming kick from from outside the 50m arc through the posts.

Sydney thought it was a clear major but the goal umpire sent it up for a score review, with the soft call being a behind. Replays showed the ball had brushed against padding on the goalposts that seemingly hadn't been affixed properly.

If the advertising padding was fitted correctly, there is every chance the goal would have stood. However, the ball brushed against the loose-fitted flap of padding, meaning Lloyd was denied what many believed should have been a goal.

“It’s hit that bit of material there … Looks like it’s hanging loose from the padding, doesn’t it?” Channel 7 commentator Brian Taylor said. “That’s the advertising part they wrap around the foam. It looks like it’s come loose at the top.

“Jake Lloyd will not be happy.” Co-commentator James Brayshaw added: “It’s not properly attached … and if it was properly attached, it (the ball) probably wouldn’t have hit it.”

with AAP

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