Veteran star defender Bachar Houli has acclaimed the gallant performance of a severely undermanned Richmond outfit in last night’s clash with Adelaide at Adelaide Oval.

The Tigers went into the match without the services of a stack of key players, but took it right up to the home side, trailing by just four points in the last quarter, before eventually being overpowered.

“I’m definitely proud of the playing group the way we handled ourselves for the majority of the game . . . Unfortunately, we weren’t good enough at crucial time, obviously the last 10 minutes,” Houli told Channel Seven in a post-match interview.

“We’re always looking for the positives out of every situation . . . There were so many positives that came out of tonight.

“We didn’t get the four points, but we’ll grow from this, and we’ll be better for it. And everything will click at the right time.”

Houli is looking forward to the significant impact that the return of the Tigers’ experienced on-field leaders, post-bye, will have on the team’s fortunes throughout the second half of this season.

“You’ve got young kids who are full of energy, enthusiastic out there, roaring to go. But when you’ve got some solid leaders back in the team, they just really settle the group down and make good, solid decisions at the right times,” he said.