The Saints have a hefty injury list, with 12 players ruled out for the season, and Jarryn Geary (calf) and Blake Acres (thigh) the latest casualties.
Richardson said the injuries meant there were more chances for players to prove their worth over the next fortnight, and emphasised that those playing in the VFL finals wouldn't be exempt from scrutiny.
"We've got some guys that need to perform strongly," he said.
"They might not necessarily be in the AFL team; they may be in the VFL team and still need to finish off strongly and prove they're worth their position on the list.
"We'll make some significant changes to our list, there's no doubt about that.
"But it is a great opportunity for a lot of those guys because of the injuries to get another crack at AFL level and show they're worth going forward with."
The likes of Clint Jones and Sam Fisher are out of contract at the end of the season although the latter has already said he'd like to go on after an injury-interrupted few years.
Despite the length of the injury list, Richardson said there was plenty of optimism within the club, given many players were already on track for solid pre-seasons.
However, he admitted it was disappointing there were no first-year players fit to play, with Acres joining Luke Dunstan (shoulder), Jack Billings (hamstring) and Eli Templeton (arm) on the sidelines.
Retiring veteran Lenny Hayes didn't train on Wednesday as he was on light indoors work but Templeton ramped things up with some non-contact drills with his teammates.
Richardson said the Saints were continuing to focus on themselves and what they could get out of the remaining games rather than how they could shape the eight.
They face Richmond and Adelaide in the final two weeks, with both clubs pushing for a belated September spot.
He said working on consistency across a whole game, which was shown as a major deficiency against the Sydney Swans on Saturday, was a focus for the upcoming weeks.
The Saints' US recruit Jason Holmes has attracted attention this week after starring in the club's Virgin Film Festival entry.
Holmes' journey from US college basketball to Seaford has been documented in the short video, which will compete with entries from other nine other clubs to win airfares to their pre-season training camp.
Richardson said the 24-year-old had shown enough improvement in the VFL to move close to an AFL debut this season but would now have to wait until next year.
"It's been a real challenge for him but he's embraced everything, he's a very popular guy and is really humble, he's been a pretty impressive sportsman albeit in other sport," he said.
"We're really pleased with the way he's going. If not for the rule that you can't elevate [rookies] after round 19, he'd be a real chance to play.
"We're really excited about him next year. His ruck work has been strong all the way through but it's been the football, the reading of the play and the flight of the footy that's progressed really strongly in the last month."
