New Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says there were signs of his new game plan was clicking as the Tigers thumped reigning premiers Geelong 15.12 (102) to 7.9 (51) in an AFL practice match on Saturday.

The Cats fielded a vastly understrength side, missing about 12 first-choice players including captain Cameron Ling and stars Gary Ablett, Joel Selwood and Steve Johnson in the Victorian country town of Yea.

But while Hardwick was not reading much into the scoreline, he was excited with the manner of the win, after being blown away by Hawthorn in the NAB Cup opening round.

“From where we came back from two weeks ago, we needed to show a bit more,” Hardwick said.

“It was really pleasing not so much for me personally, but the team in general I thought actually played pretty well today.

“From our point of view it was all about the game plan and just getting that up and going.

“Against Hawthorn it really struggled to take place, Hawthorn’s pressure was outstanding, we just couldn’t get our hands on the ball.

“The boys took it in their resolve to get out there and show what they’re made of.”

Most pleasing for the Tigers was their defensive pressure, the Cats failing to score a goal from late in the first quarter until about nine minutes into the final term, before a flurry of five quick majors cut the margin.

Richmond would have also taken heart from an impressive four-goal performance from emerging key forward Jack Riewoldt, including a spectacular mark and a clever left-foot snapped goal in the last quarter.

Midfielders Brett Deledio and Richard Tambling and halfbacks Shane Edwards and Daniel Connors were also good, while indigenous half-forwards Troy Taylor and Relton Roberts showed exciting glimpses in their first games for the club.

For the Cats, their seniors stood out among a large group of inexperienced teammates, with Paul Chapman and Corey Enright two of their best.

Geelong football manager Neil Balme admitted his youngsters struggled against determined opposition.

“They really squeezed us up, didn’t give us any space to move, forced a lot of errors on our part, probably more so because of the youth we’ve got in the team, but even the senior blokes were put under a lot of pressure too,” Balme said

Youngsters Steven Motlop, Allen Christensen and Jesse Stringer had some good moments.

Mature age key forward recruit James Podsiadly (two goals) was his side’s only multiple goal-kicker.

The venue – which last year served as a meeting point for people affected by Victoria’s bushfire tragedy – teemed with about 6,000 spectators.

The game doubled as a community fundraiser and was attended by AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick, chief executive Andrew Demetriou and football operations manager Adrian Anderson.

“If money raised today can help in any small way, that’s terrific, but I think what’s most important, to be able to bring people together from this community on a day like today is just wonderful,” Demetriou said.

© AAP 2012

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