From the management of senior players to the vibe around the team, Richmond coach Adem Yze spoke to the media on a range of topics on Friday morning.

On the decision to manage Jacob Hopper for Sunday’s game...

"We’ve got a five-day break post this game, so we've got to start thinking about that we've got three games in 20 days, so this week we made a decision on Hop to manage him, so that he can be available for next week. We just don't want to get to a situation next week where we've got three or four red flags with a couple of our older players that might not be available, so we just want to share the load. Manage Hop this weekend and he’ll be available for next week. There'll be some decisions around some of our older boys next week as well…we're just looking at two weeks in advance. He played well on the weekend, but he's a guy that would be a red flag next week, so we'll just do that, so we don't have too many of our older players missing next week."

On managing the senior players over the next few weeks...

"We’ve got a plan around that. We knew the draw going in, getting through last week's game, and there would just be a handful of (senior) players that would struggle with that. We’ve got a young list that I think they could play every five days really. There was three or four (senior players) that were going to be red flags with our fitness staff…it was just an easy one that we could give Hopper this week off. Even a hard deck at Marvel, not sure how he'd pull up after that as well, so we just think it's the smartest decision."

On team morale...

"I don't feel like we're fractured at all. When you talk about spirit, you'll see energy out there today (at training). We're getting a lot of spirit from little wins throughout games, to get back to 20 points against a really strong team (last week v GWS), with a guy that's in his first game (Oliver Hayes-Brown), he's a Category B rookie, playing in the ruck for his first game. We're getting energy from different parts of our game. We know we're 0-5, but right now, we're getting some wins along the way and within games, that we're highlighting. We reviewed the game really honestly, we looked at our positives, we know where we need to get better at, and we'll hopefully rectify that this weekend, we've just got to do it for longer."

On North Melbourne...

"They're in good form. They've obviously had a few wins and they really tested last year's premiers last week. They've got some highly talented (players), similar to us, it’s a younger list, they've got some high talent within their midfield. Their ball use is pretty potent, we're looking forward to a nice, dry day at Marvel under the roof. We can't wait to showcase our skills versus theirs, they're in good form, and it's a good test for us."

On Taj Hotton’s injury recovery...

"He did (get follow-up scans recently) and it was a positive. Those scans will happen all the way through to make sure that when we go to up-the-ante with his training, that that's obviously clearing up, and it is. It's been a positive, and he'll start running and he'll go into a training block in the next couple of weeks, once we can get him out here in full training. Right now, he's ticked the box to start running, which is a real positive and an exciting thing for the second half of the year to see him back amongst the group and getting out and doing what he does best and what he loves doing, and that's obviously training and playing. It's not too far away…positive news on that front."

On aggressively looking to bring talent into the club...

"It’s a footy Club decision and obviously Blair (Hartley) runs that department, and we'll have those discussions later in the year. I've said this all along, we'll look at bringing talent into our footy Club and whether that's through the draft or whether it's free agents, we'll make that decision later in the year. We're getting to that point, whether it's this year or next, whether we hit the draft again this year, and then the following year, it is a compromised draft with Tasmania coming in, so the next couple of years we'll be thinking of those (elements) and those discussions will be had. Whether it's an opportunity to bring a free agent in this year or next, that will be part of our planning."