With just three points separating the sides at half time, Cloke swung the momentum Collingwood's way with three quick goals after the main change.
When Cloke took an important mark over his opponent in Alex Rance, Hardwick shifted Troy Chaplin onto the Magpie.
But that proved to be a short-term fix, after Chaplin copped a knock to the head from teammate Chris Knights.
"We gave Rancey first crack at it, then Chappy, and then Chappy obviously went off injured, so we sort of lacked a few options there," Hardwick said.
"Look he's a big boy, he's a great player. He was just too good on the day."
That third term was Richmond's undoing.
Collingwood scored eight goals before the Tigers could respond, and by then, the game had been blown wide open.
In a staggering statistic, the Tigers managed just four tackles for the entire quarter.
Captain Trent Cotchin led the way with 27 touches, but with the Magpies running riot, he was forced to tinker with the midfield set-up.
"We tried a few things," Cotchin said.
"We actually brought Jack (Riewoldt) into the middle for one (bounce).
"It worked, but it was probably just our intensity and effort to get to the contest once the ball was won.
"We let ourselves down in the spread to the next contest."
The Tigers succumbed, going down by 34 points.
They now face a trip west to take on Fremantle at Patersons Stadium.
