RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick has reaffirmed his support for forward Ty Vickery and says the free agent understood he needed to be dropped to allow youngsters to play in the final two rounds. 

Vickery will play his third VFL game in the past six weeks after being dropped for Saturday's loss to St Kilda to make way for debutant Callum Moore and two-game tall Todd Elton. 

Five talking points: Richmond v St Kilda

The 26-year-old is out of contract for 2017 and a restricted free agent, but Hardwick said he remained an important player to the club. 

"I went to Ty and said I need to get a look at these two players and Ty to his credit understands," the coach said after a nine-point loss to the Saints at the MCG.

"He was disappointed to get dropped, don't get me wrong, but I maintain Ty is firmly in my best 25. 

WATCH: Damien Hardwick's full post-match press conference

"He's not playing as well as I would like at the moment, and he agrees with that. 

"I needed to have a look at Moore and Elton … Ty is very important to our footy club, make no mistake."

Richmond produced a listless first half against the Saints and appeared on track for a heavy defeat before rallying in the third quarter and then kicking three of the game's last four goals. 

It was a performance captain Trent Cotchin labelled "insipid" on Melbourne radio, but the coach said there were other priorities in the final rounds of the season.  

"We're more looking at it now as looking at players and seeing what we can find," Hardwick said.   

"We're trying to learn some things going forward for next year, so we're prepared to do that a little bit.

"We're finding out about some players, which is a positive for us."

Hardwick said Moore, who finished with five possessions and a late goal, had shown "with his speed and intensity he's going to be an OK player for us". 

Meanwhile Elton, who took seven marks (four contested) and finished with 10 possessions, showed positive signs with 1.1.   

A glaring weakness in the Tigers' performance was its tackling pressure, losing the count 42-63, despite St Kilda winning 58 more possessions.

Hardwick, however, said there was "some system to the madness". 

"Sometimes we want high tackle numbers, sometimes we're prepared to sit off a bit and let them go certain ways," he said.   

"It all interconnects with how you play. We're a low tackle side. Some sides are high tackle, depending on the style of game." 

"We still expect better effort come the first half and the second half was better."