Richmond coach Adam Yze didn’t hide his frustration after one of his players gave away a needless free kick for an off-ball incident against Port Adelaide.
During a disappointing 13.12(90) to 6.12(48) loss against the Power on Saturday night, ruckman Samson Ryan was spotted striking opponent Jordon Sweet in the stomach.
The brain fade from Ryan was nowhere near the play that was unfolding, but it still resulted in a free kick for Port and completely shifted the momentum.
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Jordon Sweet stays down after an incident with Samson Ryan. AFL Photos via Getty Images
Ryan could now face punishment for the incident – but he will also be feeling the heat from his coach, who was left to rue the moment of madness.
“Especially when we’re going through what we’re going through, we’ve obviously got a few players out and got some young players out there,” a disappointed Yze said.
“You can’t defend behind undisciplined acts. So I’ll cop it if it’s an execution error and we’re just not as good as them, but when it’s something like that, they can just crush your spirit. It was probably a silly thing to do … well, it was.”
“No doubt when we’re going through what we’re going through, when you’ve got fit players – if they do become unavailable, that’s frustrating.”
Richmond are sitting bottom of the AFL ladder and remain winless after four games.
Adem Yze. AFL Photos via Getty Images
Yze admitted his side were able to capitalise on crucial opportunities against Port.
“That middle part of the game, the effort and intent was right, we just lacked that polish and the execution,” he said.
“You want to access the corridor when you can and we were making some ordinary decisions on when to go through there or when to take high risks.”
The struggling Tigers will face the GWS Giants next weekend.