His side may be languishing near the bottom of the AFL ladder, but Richmond Tigers coach Damien Hardwick insists they are showing improvement as the competition passes its halfway point.
Richmond has been one of the season’s biggest disappointments after failing to build on last year’s finals appearance. The Tigers have only belted out the team song three times in 2014 and are at long odds to loosen the vocal chords tomorrow when they host a red-hot Sydney Swans at the MCG.
Hardwick, however, has asked Richmond fans to keep the faith. He said the Tigers have improved in a number of areas since the bye in Round 8. “From Round 9 onwards we’ve addressed a few of those issues and our numbers have started to improve,” Hardwick said on the club’s website. “We haven’t won the games we require, but overall our standard of footy, I think, has improved over those weeks.”
Giving the Tigers some hope tomorrow is their favourable record against the Swans at the MCG. Richmond hasn’t lost to Sydney at the venue since 2009, but whether the visitors pay attention to that statistic is another matter.
The Swans are arguably the form team of the competition and full-forward Lance Franklin is rediscovering the touch that made him such a prized recruit. His final-term, three-goal blitz helped the Swans topple ladder leaders Port Adelaide last week and boosted him to eighth in the Coleman Medal standings.
Franklin, however, will be without forward partner Kurt Tippett tomorrow after the 27-year-old was ruled out with a knee injury. Teammates Dan Hannebery (ankle) and Ben McGlynn (thumb) will also miss the Tigers clash.
