Richmond coach Adem Yze has come to the defence of under-fire midfielder Tim Taranto, whose form was questioned in the wake of the Tigers' 72-point loss to Port Adelaide over the weekend.
Taranto had 17 disposals at 70 per cent efficiency despite 13 of those possessions being used by hand, with a return of just 90 metres gained also a concerning low.
The outing for the ex-Giant and 2023 Jack Dyer Medal winner came after a strong season-opening performance in the win over Carlton in Round 1, with questions over his consistency a talking point this week.
Asked on the vice-captain's pending response to the criticism, Yze said he doesn't expect the "tough" Taranto to take in external feedback, instead relying on the support from his teammates and coaches.
Yze was confident the endless criticsm of players won't impact their processes and performances, with the Tigers looking to "block it out".
"Our players are going to get criticism left, right and centre, so it's just how much you want to take in," Yze said.
"What we do know is Tim's an amazing player, a really strong leader around our footy club, and when he plays well, we're in most games. You saw that in Round 1, he got coaches' votes, he was a really important player to us and one of the main reasons why we won that game against Carlton. I think if you ask Carlton, they'd be saying that he's a pretty important player.
"All the outside noise, we just try and block it out and help him with that. But that's always going to be there. We know how much we love him and how good of a player he is.
"He's in the top one or two at our club. That's all I care about. The rankings and things like that, we don't really care. He's a great teammate, he's tough, and he's a vice captain for a reason, so he knows that, and we'll just wrap our arms around him to make sure we help him with blocking out that noise."
The heightened number of views from the media has led to a spike in discussion on the game and its players, whether that be good or bad.
Yze said while scrutiny "is just there", he expects his players to "move on really quickly" and focus on the next task at hand.
"It's just how much you want to absorb it and take it in," he added.
"We've got an education process (in place), our welfare crew do an amazing job, and they help them with that.
"The noise is just as loud when you win, so we're trying to block that out and just be really consistent, win, lose or draw, and be able to move on.
"We need our players to move on really quickly."
Richmond, who are chasing their second win this weekend, will face St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
