Sydney coach John Longmire says Damien Hardwick has apologised to him for post-match comments the Swans’ mentor felt were unnecessary, unwarranted and incorrect.

After Richmond ground out a 4.10 (34) to 3.8 (26) AFL win over Sydney at the Gabba on Sunday, Hardwick complained about what he saw as overly defensive tactics in the match, saying: “We’re attacking and we’ve got 75,000 people in our forward 50”.

“Damien called me straight after the game and apologised for the comments, which I appreciated. But as I said to Damien they are out there,” Longmire said.