Richmond horror show gets even worse

The Richmond Tigers say Bachar Houli “will likely need surgery” after picking up an ankle syndesmosis sprain in the side’s upset loss to the Suns on Thursday.

The three-time premiership player went in for scans on Friday and is a strong chance of missing the remainder of the season.

Houli joins the likes of Nathan Broad, Noah Balta, Dion Prestia and Ivan Soldo in the Richmond casualty ward.

Trent Cotchin, Tom Lynch and Shai Bolton are among the other star Tigers to have spent time on the sidelines this season.

Shane Edwards (ankle) and Callum Coleman-Jones (calf) picked up injuries of their own on Thursday night.

Edwards was able to play out the game but the Tigers subbed Coleman-Jones out at halftime. Both will be monitored ahead of next week’s clash with Collingwood.

After being held to their lowest score in 60 years last week, the Tigers again bore little resemblance to a team chasing a third straight premiership on Thursday night.

The Suns, who lost to cellar-dwellers North Melbourne five days prior, recorded a stunning ten-point win but the margin could have been much larger had they made the most of their set shots.

A Tigers three-peat now looks a distant fantasy, with the team a chance of falling out the eight at the end of this weekend pending other results.

Hardwick’s Tigers are in danger of missing the top eight for just the second time in nine years. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source:Getty Images

Coach Damien Hardwick was at a loss when asked to explain his side’s latest defeat.

“It’s hard to answer to be honest,” he said after the game.

“Confidence is a very, very funny thing within the AFL – you can quickly gain it, you can quickly lose it.

“Our boys are just lacking confidence at the moment which is surprising … when you lack confidence you’re one step behind. Instead of being proactive, you’re reacting, so we’ve just got to build them up and get them better.

“We’re the first to admit we’re not playing anywhere the level of capacity we think we can and we’ve got to get better in a lot of facets in our game.

“Unfortunately at the moment, our players are just struggling.”

The anguish of the loss was compounded by both sides’ recent records in second halves of seasons.

Since 2018, the Suns had won just two games in the second halves of seasons prior to Thursday night. Conversely, Richmond had lost just six, with two of those coming this season.

The Tigers’ chances of finishing in the top four now look remote, but a finals berth is not out of the question.

Clashes with Brisbane, Geelong and Fremantle (in Perth) over the next month will likely prove decisive.

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