Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has come under fire after he allegedly "verbally abused" VFL players over the weekend.
Hardwick was understood to be in attendance at Punt Road for Saturday's clash between the Tigers' reserves and Williamstown, a match the home side won convincingly to the tune of 55 points.
But while it was a joyous evening for their players on-field, Hardwick could gain scrutiny from the AFL after it was revealed he hurled abuse toward Seagulls players during the opening quarter of the match.
In a statement released to News Corp, the Tigers revealed "an exchange of words" broke out after an incident that saw a Williamstown player reported for rough conduct.
“The club acknowledges there was an exchange of words following an incident in the first quarter which led to a Williamstown player being reported for rough conduct,” the statement read.
“As far as the club is concerned, that is the end of the matter.”
An incident involving AFL-listed Tiger Rhyan Mansell and Willismtown player Darby Henderson was sparked near the boundary line, with Mansell being struck from behind by Henderson.
A Williamstown spokesperson detailed the verbal altercation that involved Hardwick, revealing he fired verbal abuse toward a Seagulls player.
“He verbally abused one of the Williamstown players because of a hit early in the first quarter," the spokesperson said.
"There was some sort of verbal altercation with Dimma verbally abusing the player."
Another Williasmtown source close to The Herald Sun also said: “He branded two players ‘weak f***ing pr***s’ and said to them ‘come over here and I’ll show you how tough you are’."
Hardwick's frustrations came in the wake of the club's draw to Fremantle the night prior, with the Tigers missing two late chances to score in the match.
The shared two-point outcome leaves Richmond in 10th place and two points behind 8th-placed Bulldogs with four gamnes remaining in the season.
Richmond will face another top-four contender this weekend when they host Brisbane at the mCG on Sunday at 3:20pm (AEST).
