RICHMOND midfielder Anthony Miles has declared the Tigers are at the crossroads, and has urged his teammates to band together as they try to turnaround their disappointing start to the season.
Touted as a potential top-four contender this year, the Tigers have floundered in the opening five rounds of the season, and now sit 1-4 after being outclassed by Melbourne on Sunday night.
Damien Hardwick's men were beaten easily around the contest, losing the clearances (45-39) and contested ball (176-162).
The coach said there were far too many passengers in the Richmond side, conceding the "answer (to their problems) is within the group".
Miles echoed Hardwick's sentiments, declaring the Tigers' playing group must all be on the same page if they were to salvage what's left of their season.
"Each individual has got to have a good hard look at themselves and go from there," Miles told AFL.com.au.
"We can go one of two ways from here. We can splinter and start pointing fingers or we can get to the crux of the problem and really knuckle down as a group."
Unfortunately for the Tigers this is not unfamiliar territory.
Richmond has been forced to bounce back from slow starts in its past two seasons.
Miles said their past experiences had given them the confidence that they could once again turn it around.
"We've been in this situation before and come out the other side," he said.
"I'm pretty confident we can do the same again.
"Our list is certainly good enough. Our best footy is certainly good enough. I don't feel like we're too far away from our best."
Miles also threw his support behind Hardwick, insisting the coach was not to blame for the string of disappointing losses.
"'Dimma' has done absolutely everything he can," he said.
"It just comes down to the 22 guys who put on the jumper every week. He's supporting us in the best way he can but at the end of the day, the responsibility falls on the playing group."
Richmond host an embattled Port Adelaide at the MCG next Saturday night in what Miles described as a "massive" game for the club.
