RICHMOND coach Adem Yze did not hide his disappointment on Saturday evening, laying bare the massive gulf between where his Tigers currently stand and where he wants them to be. 

Following a brutal reality check against Sydney — where his side fell completely short in a 114-point loss — Yze accepted the painful reality of fielding a highly inexperienced side amid the team’s ongoing injury crisis.

SWANS v TIGERS Full match coverage and stats

Curtailing the impact of Swans spearhead Charlie Curnow presented a headache for the undermanned Tigers heading into the match, with Yze even considering playing Kye Annand just five days after the 200cm defender was picked up in the mid-season rookie draft.

Instead, second-year defender Luke Trainor was tasked with containing two-time Coleman Medallist Curnow, who finished the game with eight goals.

"That's the risk when we go into the game," Yze said of sending the inexperienced defender to Curnow.

"And to be fair, we don't have anyone else to choose from in regards to our height.

"There was even a discussion around bringing in Kye, our mid-season pick, but that would have been a little bit too hard, getting put on our list on a Wednesday and then coming into the team."

The blowout stood in stark contrast to the previous week, when a gritty 18-point Dreamtime win over Essendon had dragged Richmond off the bottom of the ladder. 

Despite the result, Yze is determined to use the heavy defeat as a development tool for the future, admitting the match proved to be a bridge too far for his Tiger cubs against one of the league's true heavyweights.

“We got taught a footy lesson today from a powerful team, and a team that's playing some really, really good footy — especially at this ground, they're hard to stop,” he said. 

“We probably took a couple of steps backwards today. It felt like for the last month we've been playing the right way and hanging in there; we've had little lapses within games, but today just wasn't good enough. When I say it wasn't good enough, it wasn't as good as them. They were way too good for us.

“We'll lick our wounds. We've got a bye coming up, so it's a disappointing way to go into the bye. But we'll learn from it. (The Swans are) at a point now that we're trying to get to, where our younger players get a feel for what A-graders are. They've got a lot of A-graders out there, and that's what we're trying to grow our players into. Right now, we don't have enough of them.”

Despite the final margin, Richmond showed early promise. When asked if any positives could be drawn from their strong start, Yze acknowledged the importance of a young team establishing early momentum in a hostile away environment. 

Yze applauded his side's early effort but noted that defensive lapses and frustrating execution errors ultimately cost them. The Swans capitalised heavily on their mistakes, launching rapid coast-to-coast transitions to score just as the Tigers looked poised to attack.

Forced structural changes from a severe injury toll have long hurt Richmond this year, with the exhausted squad now limping into their round 13 bye. While facing a challenging two weeks to sit with the defeat, the break offers a crucial reset for the tired group to refresh physically and mentally.

Yze expects to welcome back several key players post-bye, including forwards Tom Lynch (larynx) and Jonty Faull (concussion). Their return will provide much-needed depth and allow others, like Noah Balta, to settle back into their preferred positions for the second half of the year.

Meanwhile, Sydney coach Dean Cox addressed the team's growing injury list, noting that Justin McInerney rolled his ankle during the match. 

While there was a possibility of sending him back out, the club chose to manage the injury cautiously. 

Although the full extent of the injury will not be determined until Monday, Cox said it was a positive sign to see McInerney walking around the rooms afterwards.

Additionally, Lewis Melican experienced hamstring tightness towards the end of the game. 

Both players are scheduled for scans next week, with the club hoping the setbacks are only minor so they can feature in next Saturday’s game against St Kilda.

Regarding skipper Callum Mills, Cox confirmed he is tracking well after completing his required morning training session following minor calf tightness. The plan is for Mills to participate in both training sessions next week to prove his availability for the Saints clash.

On the field, Sydney’s decision to unleash a four-man key forward set-up — recalling Hayden McLean for just his second game of the year — triggered a massive 25.20 (170) goal-fest.

With Charlie Curnow booting eight goals, McLean snaring four, Logan McDonald chipping in with two, and Joel Amartey adding another, the Swans' star-studded forward line proved unstoppable.

When asked if the strong performances of his talls create a selection dilemma for next week, Cox noted that team structure is fluid rather than fixed.

"Yeah, it always does, and that's something that every week we talk about all the way up till the end,” he said.

“What way are we going to go with our forward line set-up, whether it's three (key forwards), or what we do with two rucks? I think there's an opportunity to look through everything for the season. There won't be a constant way in which we go."

Cox emphasised that the coaching staff is not locked into a single 23 each week and wants to reward players who perform well at the VFL level.

“We want to try and extend the depth of our squad, and that comes with the opportunities of playing those players, playing some kids along the way — you talk about Caiden (Cleary), Tom Hanily, and obviously Harry Cunningham,” he said. 

“We're not settled on the way we want to play every week. A good thing to do as well is to reward it if it's in front of them, and hopefully they can hold their spot.”