RICHMOND'S coaches turned to a range of US sporting clubs in the off-season for advice on how to get their players past their back-to-back elimination final heartbreaks.
Damien Hardwick and two other coaches made the trip to the States to meet with elite clubs from the country's three major sporting codes – the NFL, the NBA and MLB.
It was a fact finding mission after the Tigers' disastrous 57-point loss to Port Adelaide in last year's elimination final, organised with the intention of working out how to minimise the mental scarring associated with consecutive failed finals bids.
Hardwick said it had helped to understand the reality of the Tigers' position and what they had to do next to move beyond the first week of the finals.
"Every side has a story," Hardwick told AFL.com.au.
"The reality of the situation is, there's many sides that have a similar sort of story of failure.
"Every failure is another opportunity to develop and that's the way we've got to look at it.
"There's no million dollar answer out there that you're looking for.
"The fact of the matter is it's all hard work and every side's trying to improve and get better.
"You've got to earn your right to get back there and give yourself a go."
The magnitude of the Power loss that came on the back of the Tigers' inspiring nine-match winning streak that qualified them for September caught many by surprise.
Fans travelled to Adelaide in droves for the game only to see what Hardwick has described as some of the worst football his side have played for a number of years.
Afterwards, the game was reviewed and analysed before the players went on holiday.
"It came out with not only a few home truths but some areas we can improve on this year going forward," Hardwick said.
"Like any loss, it was dissected thoroughly and you look for answers about why you didn't play to your absolute potential on the day.
"It can be put down to a number of things but probably the big one for us is Port Adelaide played an outstanding game of football.
"Us, as a football club, were really disappointing on the day.
"We played well below our expectations so we can break it down to a number of things we can look at to improve this year but the reality is, we didn't play well on the day and we'll take that into this year."
While the coaches sought advice from overseas, Hardwick has also looked closer to home to see the how the progression of teams in a similar position to the Tigers of today has panned out.
He said West Coast in seasons 2002-04, when the club failed at the first finals hurdle before back-to-back Grand Final appearances and the 2006 premiership, was an encouraging example.
"They lost three elimination finals and two years later they win a Grand Final," he said.
"We've just got to give ourselves another opportunity to get back there so our next session is our most important; all those types of things.
"We've got to make sure we get the opportunity to get there because once you're there, you're a one in eight chance to win it – but you've got to get there first."
While it's early in the pre-season, Hardwick says there are already signs the players are determined to move beyond the heartache.
They'll enter the NAB Challenge with a different mindset to last year, with a squad made up of players mainly under the age of 23 to play in their first hit-out – against the Western Bulldogs on February 28 - before the older ones are eased in.
"The players have come back hungry for greater success," he said.
"We were disappointed with our finish last year and probably to a lesser degree our season overall.
"The situation is, we've got to get better.
"We're looking to rectify that result and work hard, and like other sides, looking forward to getting to round one and seeing how we go."
