Kane Cornes has slammed the Richmond Football Club after their loss to the Gold Coast Suns. The loss sees the Tigers slip into a battle just to make the eight with their premiership aspirations fading by the week.
The Tigers were outplayed from start to finish by a wasteful Suns who really could have won by much more than the 10-point margin.
Cornes took aim at the reigning premiers after the loss saying that they had made an "arrogant" mistake earlier this year when saying they didn't like Marvel Stadium.
“I think it was a big, arrogant mistake… the way that they (Richmond) spoke about Marvel (Stadium) this year,” Hardwick told SEN’s The Captain’s Run.
“No doubt the AFL got into the ear of Damien Hardwick and the Richmond hierarchy because quickly after they backed away pretty significantly from those comments.
Hardwick stated after the Tigers clash with GWS at Marvel earlier this year that he would like all Tigers home games at the MCG.
"I hat coming here (Marvel Stadium)," Hardwick said.
“The MCG has got soul, it’s got Richmond people there. Our people don’t come here. Plain and simple."
Cornes said that those words set the tone for the rest of the club.
“But the coach and the club – particularly the coach – sets the mood and the attitude of his players," said the Port Adelaide games-record holder.
“Every time they speak publicly, you’ve got to be really careful because the players are listening, and it does filter through the group and the fans.
“No wonder they (fans) don’t turn up – it’s no wonder the players don’t look like they want to play there, which is amazing considering where football was outside of Victoria at this time last year.
“It should have been a blessing to play at Marvel and not have to jump on a plane.”
The Tigers could fall as low as 11th by the end of the weekend with Fremantle, Essendon and GWS all snapping at the heels of the back-to-back premiers.
The Bombers and Giants have uphill battles against the Cats and Demons respectively while the Dockers face the Blues at the MCG on Saturday night.
At this stage Richmond don't have another game scheduled for Marvel Stadium this season.
