RICHMOND fans should start seeing results from the club's "half step back" soon, Damien Hardwick says, with the Tigers coach calling for patience as he reinvigorates the side with youth.
The spotlight already on Richmond after its sluggish 1-2 start to the season will be turned up to full beam in a clash against West Coast at Domain Stadium on Friday night.
After suggesting the Tigers might need to "take a little half step back to go two steps forward" following a 36-point loss to Adelaide last round, Hardwick denied the under-pressure Tigers' belief had been shaken so early in the campaign.
As the team flew out to Perth on Thursday, Hardwick said his comments reflected the loss of experienced personnel last season and the need to promote youth while trialling players in different positions.
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"It was probably just more about the fact that we've injected five or six first- or second-year players into our side," Hardwick said at Melbourne Airport.
"Last year, people forget that we lost Chris Newman, Dan Jackson, Nathan Foley, Ricky Petterd, Chris Knights … we lost a great deal of experience last year and there's a void there.
"So we've got make sure we find that next tier of players.
"We're still incredibly confident with the players we've got and how far we can go this year, but it is going to take a little bit of time for those players to jell.
"We're seeing at the moment some really good signs from these players, but they're not all clicking at the same time.
"We're only three games in. It's a very small sample size that people are making assumptions over.
"The season's 22 rounds long, we've just got to invest in our players, get the required results we're after and play some good footy – which we know isn't too far away."
The Tigers have blooded Kamdyn McIntosh, Corey Ellis, Connor Menadue, Daniel Rioli and Jayden Short over the past two seasons and haven't had the services of stars Brett Deledio (quad), Ivan Maric (back) and recruit Chris Yarran (foot) in 2016.
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Richmond will again be without Maric for the key ruck duel with Eagles star Nic Naitanui, with the Tigers not rushing the big man after one game in the VFL since overcoming a back issue.
Hardwick didn't put a time-frame on Maric's return, but said Deledio was a chance to play next weekend after his quad complaint.
"We're very confident he's turned the corner. He's a possibility to play next week, which is really encouraging," Hardwick said.
"The running has been a non-issue, the kicking has, but the kicking has turned the corner, so we're really encouraged that there is an opportunity for him to play next week versus Melbourne."
Richmond has a strong recent track record at Domain Stadium, winning its past three matches – including victories over West Coast in 2013 and 2014 – although Hardwick wasn't "exactly sure" why his side played well in Perth.
Friday night's clash will be Hardwick's 139th match in charge of Richmond, and he will claim the unwanted record of coaching the most games in VFL/AFL history without a finals victory.
