Poor skill execution is dearly hurting Richmond, according to head coach Adem Yze.
After suffering an eighth-straight loss and scoring just 48 points on Saturday evening against the Western Bulldogs, Yze is aware that his side's capacity to use the ball and make good decisions is lacking.
"Our second quarter, we just let ourselves down and it's deflating," Yze said following the loss.
"Our first quarter, we had pressure, we come with the right mindset, we knew what they were trying to do, and we did, we put them under the pump, and then in the second quarter the pressure was still pretty high. Tried to put them in a fight, but then it was just our skill execution. The second quarter really cost us."
Yze conceded that his side's "Achilles heel" was exposed, thin on the ground for height, the Bulldogs were able to take 20 contested marks to the Tigers' five.
Six-gamer Kye Annand was left to battle it out with Aaron Naughton all night, and intercepting defender Luke Trainor needed to play a taller key position role in the absence of Ben Miller and Noah Balta.
"(The Dogs') aerial game just dominated…both ends of the ground, which going into the game it's just what we've got left, but at the same time when you've got Kye Annand and Luke Trainor playing as your key pillars in defence against really good quality forwards, we'll be better for it, and they'll be better for it," Yze said.
"We've got no-one else…it's just what it is right now with our key position stock. But at the same time, we need them to learn. We need them to understand what it is like to play on an All-Australian."
The club is hopeful Miller (heel) and Balta (toe) may be available for next week's clash with West Coast.
There was a concerted effort to shift the ball off the line more after a poor performance against Hawthorn last week in which the Tigers were guilty of kicking long down the line too often, but finding the balance has been a challenge.
"We went way too straight last week, we kicked way too many times down the line, and we just needed a bit of balance in our game," Yze said.
"At times we overplayed that."
