The Tigers started the third term facing a 50-point deficit and banged on six goals to the Magpies' two to cut the lead to just 26 points at the final break.
Although they were unable to sustain the pressure, allowing Collingwood to skip away with nine goals in the last quarter, Hardwick said his developing side was beginning to show signs of being a good football team.
"For a young side, the ups and downs are always going to happen," he said.
"We showed that when we play good footy, when we win the ball and get it going our way, we're quite capable of matching it with the top sides."
But Hardwick identified Richmond's inability to sustain a high level for an entire match as a key area for improvement.
"At stages when we do play the way we want to play to a consistent level we are hard to stop, but the level of inconsistency is too great at the moment," he said.
"The difference between a good side and a poor side is that the good side's poor quarters don't result in nine goals, which is what happened in the last.
"It was a disappointing way to finish the game, there's no doubt."
Richmond has had a difficult start to the season, facing 2010 finalists Carlton, St Kilda, Hawthorn and the Magpies, and finds itself with just two points to show for its efforts.
Lamenting "a draw from hell" in the opening four rounds, Hardwick said the club needed to maintain faith in its young talent and the results would come.
He drew parallels between his team and Collingwood of six years ago.
"You've just got to persevere with the guys that are going to take us forward," the Tigers coach said.
"(Collingwood) are where we want to be. They started their process around 2005 - six years ago. We've started ours last year.
"So understand that we've got a fair way to go. But the guys have started to show some signs.
"Conca I thought was very good tonight, Batchelor showed he can compete at the level, so we're finding players along the way, which is a real positive for us."
Hardwick also praised the performances of Brett Deledio and Chris Newman in propping up an inexperienced backline.
And he was pleased with what he saw from former Demons veteran Brad Miller, who kicked just one goal but presented strongly and provided a viable forward alternative to spearhead Jack Riewoldt.
