Senior coach Luke Beveridge couldn’t have been prouder of his group after a strong response in the final half of a gutsy win over Richmond yesterday.

Beveridge hailed his side's "intestinal fortitude" for responding after seeing a 29-point lead dissolve into a 14-point half-time deficit following Richmond's scintillating eight-goal second quarter.

"It was so important that we did reset and that the players believed we could do it," he said.

"Part of the process was re-investing in what had worked well early and understanding what had happened in that 10 to 12-minute period.

"There's no doubt there was a slight drop off in some of our intensity and no doubt Richmond's individual brilliance and they were rampaging taking their opportunities left, right and centre, whether it was Dustin Martin or Shai Bolton. They really bounced it out of their half-back area too easily."

Beveridge saluted the clearance work of onballer Tom Liberatore, who will play his 200th game next week, along with ruckman Tim English.

"Tom has just been enormous," he said. "What he does to our team and our club is significant. It'll be great to salute him and celebrate the fact he's going to get the double century.

"Tim is really progressing. He showed tremendous leadership this afternoon. I thought he had a huge influence on the game. As the game wore on, he became even more critical. The first part of that last quarter he had some significant moments. I think he's had a really start to the year."

Beveridge lauded the performances of some players late in the contest, with the midfield finding a way to sway the fixture late

“It was just a grind wasn’t it,” Beveridge said.

“Terrific to see some of the boys that are on the fringe a little bit in Robbie McComb and Mitch Hannan kick a couple of important goals late.

“When we lost Hayden Crozier, Caleb Daniel played an important role for us, when he went back his gave us some stability.

“The midfield brigade with their clearance factor – Marcus, Tom and Adam – it was a really important aspect of the game.”