Richmond coach Damien Hardwick concedes he overstepped the mark in his critique of Tigers star Dustin Martin during his post-match press conference last Sunday.
After the Tigers' 70-point loss to Hawthorn, in which Martin racked up 39 disposals and 10 clearances, Hardwick was asked if the dynamic midfielder could win the Brownlow Medal.
The coach, who believed Martin had handballed too much instead of taking attacking options, responded: “Not on today's game. I didn't think he was that good today”.
Hardwick said he had since spoken to Martin about his comments and the 25-year-old, who has had at least 30 disposals in eight of his past nine games, understood.
“I called Mark Maclure a goose last week, and I think I was in the same boat,” Hardwick said, in reference to the ABC commentator's refusal to award Martin a vote following his 43-disposal performance against Essendon in Round 17.
“We speak all the time . . . There are stages where I overstep the mark like I did on the weekend, and ‘Dusty’ understands that.
“It's a volatile game footy, it's an emotional game.”
Hardwick, who went on to give Martin four of a possible five votes in the AFL Coaches Association’s Player of the Year award, said he was frustrated at being asked about the Brownlow Medal after a team performance in the final quarter he labeled “shameful”.
“You're talking to a coach who has just come off a 10-goal loss and you're asking about an individual award, which I've got no interest in,” he said.
“I'm more interested in wins and losses, and if you ask Dustin, you know what he is more interested in? Wins and losses.
“So it was more along the line of the questioning. I don't really care about the Brownlow and I know Dustin doesn't either.”
After a nine-goal-to-two last quarter against the Hawks, in which his players had been “able but not willing”, Hardwick said he expected a response against Greater Western Sydney at Canberra’s Manuka Oval on Saturday.
Defender Bachar Houli, who was sidelined for 11 weeks with a wrist injury, appears likely to play after returning through the VFL last week.
“He'll put his hand up today and he'll probably come back into the side . . . he's an important player for us,”Hardwick said.
Dylan Grimes trained with the main group, after his exit from last Sunday's match against Hawthorn, in the third quarter, because of hamstring tightness.
“It was a conservative call from us. We weren't prepared to lose him for a four-week block,” Hardwick said.
“We think it was more related to his back . . . We'll see how he pulls up, but we're not going to take risks with Dylan.”
