Speaking after the Tigers had demolished the much-fancied Eagles outfit on the back of four quarters of midfield dominance, Hardwick said his team had wanted to atone for their loss to Essendon last week.
"I don't think there's a better feeling as a footy club to come away and win at a ground that is very, very hard to play at," he said.
"It's probably the one time you do enjoy a three-and-a-half, four-hour plane trip on the way home.
"The great thing for us is it gives our guys a belief that if they play to their potential they are a capable side.
"You know, we have probably only played to a six-out-of-ten prior to this game. We have been winning ugly.
"This is probably the first time that we took it to another level and played consistent footy, apart from that 10 minutes in the first quarter."
But Hardwick was quick to warn Tigers fans, who have only seen their side play finals twice in the past 30 years, not to get too excited.
"We're just scratching the surface, I think," he said.
"We've still got a lot of areas that we need to improve. We've got some players that are capable of coming back into this side, also, in Ellis, and Conca will be back after the break.
"But we've still got some areas we are deficient in that we need to improve, so let's just make sure we win our games coming up and whatever will be, will be."
Hardwick singled out the efforts of draftee Nick Vlastuin, captain Trent Cotchin and veteran Brett Deledio.
He said it was difficult to believe Vlastuin, who kicked three important goals, had only played five AFL games before lining up against West Coast.
Hardwick also said Shane Edwards, who kicked two goals before being substituted out of the game with an injury to his eye, was likely to travel back to Melbourne with the team.
