Richmond interim coach Andrew McQualter has downplayed an incident involving Maurice Rioli Jr, saying he wasn't on the phone with the youngster during the Tigers' gritty win against West Coast in Perth on Sunday.
Rioli appeared to wave-off a phone call from the coaches box unhappy with being subbed out of the contest in the final term.
The 20-year-old had collected six disposals and kicked a behind to that point in the match.
The vision raised some eyebrows, but McQualter rejected any deeper reading of the incident, saying he'd been there and understood the 20-year-old's reaction.
"The reality is I've been subbed-off. It's not a nice feeling," McQualter said after the match.
McQualter played just shy of 100 senior games across eight seasons between St Kilda and Gold Coast.
"I understand. (Rioli is) a young kid, he's trying to make his way...I understand if he was disappointed. He'll be okay," he said.
McQualter confirmed he wasn't on the other end of the call at the time and said that he'll more closely assess the circumstances before addressing the matter.
"Whatever happened, we'll deal with it when we need to, but I'm not exactly sure what played out at that time."
Coming into the contest with four wins from the previous five games, McQualter conceded the outing wasn't the Tigers' best against the embattled Eagles who presented more of a fight than many may have expected.
Richmond did lead at each break, but had struggled to put the contest beyond doubt before a four-goals-to-two final term shored-up the 38-point victory.
He hailed Daniel Rioli's equal career-best 31 disposal effort from the bank flank as a key contributor.
"The incredible amount of speed and work rate Daniel provides…but I think first and foremost he defends really hard too," McQualter said.
"He bases his game on the right actions as the defender and then just gets to work when he wins and it provides a lot of run for us. And we're lucky to have him in our team."
The older Rioli admitted he gets "told off a little bit" for playing loose and benefits from Richmond's defensive unit covering for his push through the ground in attack before circling back onto the team objective.
"'I've said this many times - these boys always look after me because they know I've got speed and try and use a ball well and try and try to play to my strengths. Obviously that went well today and we just need to keep winning games now. (We're) towards the end of the year now so every game counts," he said.
Rioli said McQualter's familiar face but fresh voice has come welcomed throughout a Tigers playing group they eyeing-off finals.
McQualter took over the reins after three-time premiership coach Damien Hardwick announced a shock end to his tenure at Punt Road earlier this season.
After a best-on-ground performance against the Eagles in May, Shai Bolton backed it up with 23 touches, two goals and a fourth-quarter hanger in the contest. His impact could have been even more devastating as he had six shots on goal.
Richmond sit half a win out of the top eight in 11th spot on the ladder with five home-and-away games remaining.
