Richmond rides out season’s bumps due to culture, says coach
RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick says the Tigers have emerged “stronger” from their controversies this season.
Hardwick and captain Trent Cotchin said they never lost faith in the club’s culture despite incidents that plagued their push for a third flag in four seasons.
Hardwick said on Friday he was proud of how the club had accepted responsibility and responded.
In one incident, Callum Coleman-Jones and Sydney Stack were sent home after being embroiled in an early morning altercation in Surfers Paradise last month, in a clear breach of the AFL’s COVID rules.
The Tigers also confronted allegations of player groping during the team song in August.
“The one thing we pride ourselves on is our culture and how we cope as an organisation,” Hardwick said.
“But the reality is, up here, there was always going to be bumps along the way.
“I think the one thing you can always say is your organisation is always defined by those bumps.
“It’s easy when the road is smooth and you can sit there above the water, but I think you find out a lot about yourself and a lot about your people when times are tough.
“We went to work. We were disappointed. We accepted responsibility and we learnt from it along the way.
“What we always take out of it is what we can learn from the experience.
“I think that’s what good organisations do. Sometimes we’re disappointed, but I think it makes us stronger as the end result.”
On field, the Tigers were also making headlines beyond those of their wins.
Key forward Tom Lynch kept courting debate as he walked the match review tightrope with a series of lineball incidents — the most recent in the semi-final when he dipped a knee into St Kilda’s Dougal Howard.
Cotchin said his faith in the group never wavered despite the off-field headaches.
“To be completely honest and transparent, I don’t think we ever doubted our culture, it was always outside of our four walls,” he said.
“We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve created and what we continue to create, and try to grow week in, week out, year on year.
“We have an amazing group of people.
“We’re just looking forward to an opportunity tomorrow night against a quality outfit and we’re excited about it.”