AFTER two losses from three games, Richmond's biggest challenge is finding a way to halt the opposition when it has momentum, according to Tigers skipper Trent Cotchin.
Twice this year, Richmond has led in the last quarter only to lose. The Tigers' only victory was in round two against Carlton, when they survived by the skin of their teeth.
Against Gold Coast and the Western Bulldogs, Richmond twice conceded four unanswered goals, while it let Carlton kick five straight after half-time to give up a commanding lead.
"We have spoken about it in the last couple of seasons but it is something we really need to nut out. Stemming the flow of opposition goals is a big focus for us going forward," Cotchin said on Tuesday.
Cotchin played a straight bat when asked about the issues dominating discussions about Richmond.
He denied leadership on the ground in tight contests was an issue, saying every Tiger was responsible for playing their role.
The skipper said he didn't care where Dusty Martin played because Cotchin said he was good in any position as long as he got the ball.
He didn't think the team's forward structure needed to change, as it had more players capable of playing different roles than it had in the past, which enabled different players to put their hands up when required.
On Saturday against the Western Bulldogs it was Jack Riewoldt's turn.
After a quiet first half, he kicked four goals after half-time to help drag the Tigers back into the contest and once again raised the question as to whether he was being used effectively.
"It just comes back to our ball movement, what sort of space there is in the forward line, Jack's leading patterns - there is a mix of different things," Cotchin said.
"It was good to see Jack jumping at the footy and taking some big grabs and going back and kicking his goals, because we know that is what Jack likes to do."
As to what caused Riewoldt [and Richmond's] metamorphosis at the long break against the Dogs, Cotchin wasn't sure.
He said Richmond's half-time discussion focused on taking up the fight to win a game after coughing up a 37-point start, rather than kicking it to Riewoldt more often.
Cotchin understands Riewoldt to be just one piece of a much larger puzzle and suggests the sort of questions that will affect Richmond most aren't the ones making the headlines, such as:
-How does Richmond stop unforced turnovers that create fast breaks that are hard to defend?
-How does Richmond stop centre breaks or boundary stoppages from becoming scores?
-How does Richmond use the talent in the midfield most effectively?
Answering those quickly will determine how Richmond performs against Collingwood at the MCG on Friday night.
Cotchin thinks the defeat to the Bulldogs was the sort of loss that might shape the season.
"I think we learnt more from losing that game than we (we would have done) from winning it," Cotchin said.
