Richmond coach Damien Hardwick was unperturbed with the Tigers’ 50-point loss to the Indigenous All Stars in Alice Springs last Friday night.

With key senior regulars such as Trent Cotchin, Brett Deledio, Ivan Maric, Jack Riewoldt, Alex Rance and Bachar Houli missing, Richmond was no match for the quick, slick All Stars outfit.

Hardwick, however, was upbeat at his post-match media conference . . .

“We always knew it was an exhibition-type game and we were going to try things,” Hardwick said.

“At various stages, we put a few blokes behind the ball and then tried the other way.  So, it was always a game that we were going to try certain situations.

“We had a relatively young squad out there and we were keen to get them in tune with what we’re trying to do going forward.

“I would have liked to have been closer on the scoreboard, no doubt about that.  We came to win like we always do.  But there were some good signs, especially in the second half when we got our game up and going a bit more . . .

“Nick Vlastuin in the last quarter was very good.  Kamdyn McIntosh showed that he’s capable pf playing centre half-back.  Todd Elton took a couple of really strong marks . . . he’s just got to get a bit better with his goalkicking.  He’s terrifinc in the air, ‘Toddy’.  He’s going to take a little bit of time, but we think he’s got potential moving forward. 

“So, we got some exciting things out of it.

“It was more from an individual point of view that we were looking for certain things, and we got that tonight.”