Richmond coach Damien Hardwick refused to blame umpiring for the Tigers' heart breaking five-point loss last night, following some contentious free kicks.
The main talking point post-match was a deliberate out-of-bounds paid against Richmond's Jayden Short in the Tigers' forward 50 with just 23 seconds remaining.
With Richmond five points down and attacking heavily, the Bulldogs were then able to clear the ball and effectively kill of the game.
Fans, commentators and ex-players blasted the decision, with Short simply appearing to fumble the ball as he made, what looked to be on the replay, a genuine attempt to pick up the footy.
“I’m not sure whether it’s that rule (deliberate) or all the rules, to be frank,” Hardwick said post-match when quizzed on the deliberate out of bounds decision.
“I feel really sorry for the umpires, the amount of interpretations they have to make. We just keep adding layer upon layer.
“So I don’t blame the umpires at all, at all. The holding the ball rule. How many interpretations are in that?
“It’s not their fault, they’ve got to go through five decisions to make an actual decision. I actually think they do a pretty good job, under the circumstances.”
Richmond led by as much as 32 points in the second quarter, before the reigning premiers got back into the match their typical tenacious fighting spirit.
After winning the opening five games of the season, the Tigers have lost their past two, to sit sixth on the ladder at 5-2. They host Fremantle at the MCG next Sunday afternoon.