Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has given a sarcastic appraisal of the umpires' performance after his team were on the end of a lop-sided free kick count during the 28-point loss to Brisbane on Friday night.
The Tigers lost the free kick count 28 -16 in front of a large pro-Lions crowd at the GABBA, with the decisions not going their way throughout the match - particularly at half time with Brisbane leading the tally 21-6.
When asked about the officiating during his post-match press conference, Hardwick responded in a jovial manner but made it clear he was unhappy with how the umpiring transpired during the match.
"I loved [the lop-sided free kick count] - I really did," Hardwick said sarcastically.
"It was challenging. Look the game is very hard to umpire. But it was tough. I'm not going to lie."
With Richmond winning the second half free kick count, Hardwick then joked about a Tigers official putting a complaint at half time: "Someone put a phone call in, you reckon?
Hardwick conceded the sport is tough for umpires to officiate, but then revealed he feels Friday night matches have become centre stage for any rule tweaks to be seen by other clubs.
"I think it's a tough game to adjudicate," he said. "I think other clubs will get a fair idea on what they are paying for the rest of the weekend.
"It always seems to happen Friday nights. Holding the balls are back in vogue. We will see how it goes for the rest of the weekend. It is what is."
During the match at half-time, after the Tigers had given up a 19-point lead to trail by seven, Hardwick was interviewed by Channel 7 and asked about the free kick tally.
The three-time premiership coach made it known he was aware of its skewed nature and hoped for some 'luck' in the second half.
"Yeah 6-21 free kicks, it’s pretty hard to win the ball when you’re either second to it or the count’s not going our way," Hardwick told Channel 7.
"We’ve just got to get the ball going our way. We’ve got a young midfield, we understand that, but we need to start getting a little bit of luck I reckon."
After kicking the first three goals to have the Lions on the backfoot, the Tigers slowly saw their lead erode before the home side kicked four goals to one in the third quarter to set up a match-winning lead.
