Richmond has been scolded by a chorus of AFL greats following their shocking 32-point loss to Hawthorn on Thursday night, leaving last year's flag-winners winless since the season returned from its COVID-19 hiatus.
Damien Hardwick's men appeared en route to further premiership glory, such was the way they kicked off their 2020 campaign with a nine-goal opening quarter against Carlton in round one.
Since then they've cut an incomparable outfit to the one that hoisted the cup last year, with Thursday's loss the second consecutive week the Tigers have faltered points-wise, failing to crack 40 points for the first time in back-to-back weeks since the 80's.
The Tigers were without their biggest attacking weapon in Dustin Martin due to a rib concern, but a forward line containing three-time Coleman Medalist Jack Riewoldt and superstar forward Tom Lynch barely landed a scratch on the Hawks.
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Richmond's night was summed up by a point-blank miss in front of goal from Lynch in the fourth quarter, with the former Sun spraying the set shot from the top of the goal square to slash any glimmer of hope for a remarkable late comeback.
There were suggestions Hardwick's side looked bereft of direction without their star man Martin, a theory the two-time premiership-winning coach wasn't buying.
"You take one of the best players, if not the best player in the League, out of a side [when] you'd prefer to have him than not," Hardwick said after the loss.
"(But) the reality is there's 22 other players that play our way. They just didn't play well enough tonight. Dustin's one player, he's not the Richmond Football Club."
Hardwick admitted after the loss the pair of performances over the past two rounds were "un-Richmond-like". But some of the game's great players have gone a step further in their criticism.
Premiership great Johnathan Brown was particularly stinging in his assessment of Hardwick's side, suggesting there were serious problems at the club.
"That effort is unacceptable for a poor team, never mind the premier," Brown said of the game against Hawthorn on Fox Footy's coverage
“Last week early in the game they were ordinary, I thought they were terrible in the second half against Carlton in Round 1,” he said.
“There’s problems down there at Richmond, they looked lacklustre, ‘stand-offish’ as Trent Cotchin described them last week."
Whilst scoring has been pinpointed as the club's greatest deficiency in its current slump, some uncharacteristic defensive flaws were exposed against the Hawks.
Previously renowned as a hard-nosed defensive unit, the Tigers made 27 tackles in Thursday's loss, significantly down on their average of 49.7 last year. By comparison, Hawthorn, despite winning the possession contest, made 34 tackles.
15 Richmond players yet to lay a tackle at half time. Completely unlike anything they’ve put up for the last three years. #AFLTigersHawks
— Rudi (@RudiEdsall) June 18, 2020
Three-time All-Australian St. Kilda great Nick Dal Santo admitted these were immensely concerning signs for the premiers.
"The amount of times the Hawks have been able to just walk through tackles - they're like a turnstile,” he told Fox Footy.
"We haven't seen this from this team, not of this quality, for some time ... what we've loved about these Tigers is their aggression, they stick these tackles.
"At ground level, it feels like they've lost their mojo. They look a little bit unorganised behind the football and they're quiet compared to the Hawks' defensive six."
Meanwhile, Saints legend Leigh Montagna has started to question the Tigers' premiership credentials and urged Hardwick to make adjustments before next week's clash against his former side.
“I’ve watched all three of their games live now, and besides the first-quarter onslaught against Carlton they were a bit pedestrian," Montagna said during Triple M's call on Thursday night.
“Carlton matched them for three quarters, Collingwood they were pretty ordinary for most of the game and again tonight.
“Normally you give teams... you give them one mulligan, two’s starting to be a bit of a coincidence.
“By the third time, I’m just wondering whether their desire and motivation for this season is here.
“I don’t know if they can climb the mountain once again.
“I’m starting to question whether Richmond can win the flag this year.
“It looks to me like they’ve gotta make some changes and mix up the dynamic, not just for this game but for their season."
