The focus has turned to Richmond's playing list after a 2-6 start to the season, which hit a new low during last Saturday's 17-point loss to Melbourne at the MCG.
Vlastuin to undergo finger surgery, Cotchin in doubt
Following the loss, former Tigers star Matthew Richardson said the club was at a crossroads and needed to act on some players.
Speaking on Tuesday night, Hardwick would not be drawn on list management but he said the lack of players meeting expectations was a better scenario than some might think.
"For us it's actually a positive," he told Melbourne radio station 3AW.
"It'd be disappointing if we weren't winning games and these guys were performing above expectation.
"The reality is we've probably got about three or four that we feel are playing at expectation.
"I'm responsible for their performance and to get them where they need to go … unfortunately at the moment it's a fail in that area."
Hardwick said the Tigers were in a rut and had been "stuttering on and off" all season, with their poor performance a confidence issue.
Devastated and emotional: Hardwick has no answers
He defended the club's recruiting, however, particularly the decisions over recent seasons to target recycled players, including Shaun Grigg, Bachar Houli, Ricky Petterd and Matt Thomas.
"Those players have contributed and brought exactly what we wanted from [them]," he said.
"The fact of the matter is the majority of our young talent is elite.
"Trent Cotchin is probably our eldest at 24 years of age, then you go down through there.
"We've had to rebuild with one arm behind our back, trying to remain competitive while a lot of those draft picks have gone north."
Twitter: @AFL_Nathan
