Richmond coach Damien Hardwick refusing to buy into talk the Tigers are finals bound Richmond coach, Damien Hardwick, says it was his side's ability to make 'less mental errors' that was the reason they were able to defeat Fremantle. Alex Rance scored 147 SuperCoach points. Picture: Colleen Petch RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick has refused to buy into talk the Tigers are finals bound despite the gritty win over top-eight scalp Fremantle at the MCG. Hardwick paid tribute to the performance of his leaders in the win over "quality opposition" as the Tigers notched a 27-point win in a low-scoring battle. The sixth-placed Tigers sit just two points shy of the fifth-placed Dockers, who they had suffered a one-point loss to in Round 5 at Patersons Stadium. The Tigers can potentially seal a finals berth with a 12th win against Sydney at the SCG on Sunday, but Hardwick was more focused on the challenge confronting his team against the reigning premiers than the ramifications. "We have spoken about it from day dot that we just worry about our four walls and what we do within them," Hardwick said. The expectation, whether it's there or not, the reality is we just go about our business and worry about the process that we got through on a weekly basis. AFL Round 17: Richmond v Fremantle at the MCG, Melbourne 21st July 2013, Ricky Pettard after a head clash Picture: Petch Colleen Source: Some areas of our game we weren't overly pleased with and there were areas that we did really well. We have got some work cut out for us. We just worry about a formiable outfit in Sydney next week on their home deck so it is going to be another great challenge for our guys and one we look forward to. The win was only the Tigers second against a top-eight side this season, with Hardwick acknowledging what it meant to deliver against one of the league's toughest defensive teams. "It's good to beat a quality side," Hardwick said. Fremantle for a long period and Ross (Lyon), the sides that he has coached have been good, very strong. So it's always good to beat a quality opposition. They had some blokes out, there is no doubt about that, but we are really pleased the way we played and the things we put in place that came through. They came back early in that last quarter and to see (Trent) Cotchin, (Brett) Deledio, (Jack) Riewoldt and all our leaders, (Daniel) Jackson and (Ivan) Maric stand up was enormous for us. Hardwick said the Tigers had focused on the importance of winning the constested ball, which the Tigers led 141-125, against the Dockers - an area he wants the team to build on. "That was a big one," Hardwick said. AFL Round 17: Richmond v Fremantle at the MCG, Melbourne 21st July 2013, Dustin Martin gets a kick away Picture: Petch Colleen Source: We spoke about that as a group. They're an outstanding contested unit, that's how they want to play their footy and it's certainly great for our boys to match it. But the important thing for us is that consistency of that area going forward. We have matched a side that was very, very good. Their midfield was up and going so I was really pleased with that.