Jonathan Brown and Garry Lyon have lumped criticism on Tom Lynch for his performance in Richmond's 33-point victory over the North Melbourne Kangaroos on Saturday afternoon.
Lynch only provided six disposals in the contest, recording just one mark and no scores despite his team's success.
The victory keeps the Tigers in with a shot at making the top eight, the club sitting ninth with just two games to play.
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Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has come out swinging to defend his key forward Lynch however, despite the performance.
“We get our key forwards to play in a specific way and it’s to bring the ball to ground,” he said.
“If he’s getting out-marked I won’t be happy, but the fact of the matter is he plays his role.
“Tom’s a two-time premiership player. Enough said.
“Browny’s capable of putting his hand up to coach at some stage. If he wants to coach – by all means, put your hand up.
“Seriously, give me his job. Let’s swap for a week.”
“Actually, what I will say is it’s very easy in the cheap seats. Tom’s often outnumbered. I think he doesn’t get treated fairly at various stages.
Richmond are only two points behind the eighth-placed Greater Western Sydney Giants, meaning next weekend's 2019 grand final rematch between the sides will be critical, with the loser likely out of the finals race.
That becomes even more so the case when you consider the Fremantle Dockers and St Kilda Saints are also both two points behind the Giants, although both have tough games next week before playing each other in Round 23.
