MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 10: Jacob Townsend of the Tigers is carried off in a neckbrace during the 2016 AFL NAB Challenge match between the Richmond Tigers and the Port Adelaide Power at Etihad Stadium on March 10, 2016 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)

Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley says he would have acted different to Tigers' coach Damien Hardwick if faced with a plethora of injuries.

Richmond went down to Port Adelaide 0.13.15 (93) to 1.4.2 (45) at Etihad Stadium last night, with key players Shane Edwards, Shaun Grigg, Reece Conca and Jacob Townsend all suffering injuries.

As injuries mounted, coach Damien Hardwick took the extraordinary step of fielding just 15 players for periods of the final quarter as he attempted to ensure more players did not suffer injuries before round one.

Hardwick also revealed after the match that he even asked for the game to be stopped with around 10 minutes to go, but his request was denied by the AFL.

Hinkley says that while he empathised with Harwick's plight, he would have done things differently in the same situation.

"No, I don't think so," Hinkley said when if he would have requested for the game to be called off on SEN Radio on Friday morning.

"It's a hard one because you don't sit in that seat and I can totally understand 'Dimma' is getting ready for round one," he told Melbourne radio station SEN on Friday morning.

"I think from a game point of view and respecting the game as much as I would like to, I think if I've got 17 or 18 fit players, I would be out there on the ground with them and say, 'You know what, this is not ideal but just hang in there, play the game out. Just control yourself a little bit more than you would normally do.'

"Purely from outside and looking at the game, I think you'd probably like to leave the numbers there."

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