RICHMOND is aiming to bolster its midfield depth and is open to the possibility of signing a free agent, Tigers chief executive Brendon Gale says.

Richmond was close to signing Melbourne midfielder Jack Trengove in last year's trade period, but the former Demons skipper failed a last-minute fitness test after he re-aggravated a navicular injury in his left foot.

Gale said the Tigers have not ruled out trading or securing a free agent at season's end, with attacking midfielders at the top of their list.

"If there was something there that met our needs – and we know what they are – we would actively pursue that opportunity, but at the same time, we would continue to invest in the draft as well," Gale told Channel Nine on Monday night.

"Midfielders that can go forward (and) kick goals, or small forwards that can go (in the) midfield and offer depth and run are worth their weight in gold.

"It's probably an area where we struggled; any ability to win the ball off the deck in the forward 50 has been a bit of an issue for us.

"I would’ve thought that's an area we'll focus on, but there's people smarter than me that'll make those decisions."

The club decided to pursue Trengove last season because he would have added to the Tigers' midfield depth, Gale said.

Gale said he remained confident defender Alex Rance would remain at Punt Road beyond this year, but admitted he was "surprised" to find out the unrestricted free agent was considering retiring from the game.

"At no stage in our discussions with Alex's representatives was this [retiring] ever raised," he said.

"I'm not surprised that he might choose to keep that to himself, but Alex has given us no indication that he's interested in leaving Richmond.

"I'm confident Alex Rance is going to be a Richmond player for many years to come."

The Tigers succumbed to Melbourne by 32 points last Friday night, with experienced men Brett Deledio, Troy Chaplin and Chris Newman all missing through injury.

Gale said the trio's absence was "one factor" to take into account for the disappointing result.

"It's not an excuse but it's one factor that might go into explaining why we dished up what we did," he said.

"At best, at full strength, we're a reasonable football team, we're not a great football team.

"But when we don't have our best out on the park (and) we have injuries, I think we fall away talent-wise and that's not an excuse, that it is what it is."

Gale said captain Trent Cotchin was the right man to lead Richmond after his appointment in November 2012.

"He had all the attributes that we thought were required to be a good captain," he said.

"But we understood the need to invest in not just him, but the capability of our entire leadership group and I hear commentary around on-field leadership, well, it was lacking on Friday night.

"Our leadership's a work in progress."

The pressure on coach Damien Hardwick has also mounted following the Tigers' less than impressive start to season 2015.

But Gale said Hardwick's contractual status had not changed and the club would honour the terms of his contract until the end of 2016.

"It's a contract and (there's) expectation that he'll see that contract through," he said.

"We want to see continued improvement and by implication that would mean we make finals and win a final.

"But if we don't make finals – and I'm certainly not conceding that to start – there's a whole range of other factors that you need to take into account; this is a shared responsibility at this football club."