Richmond coach Damien Hardwick took a measured approach to the Tigers’ 109-point victory over West Coast at Optus Stadium last night.

While delighted with how well his team played, he also acknowledged the extreme difficulties the Eagles have been experiencing so far this season.

“The boys played a good brand of footy. It looked like a Richmond game from the outset,” Hardwick said.

“I thought we were pretty strong in all facets of the game. So, we were pleased with the way it went.

“There’s some great bits of play and our fans were probably a little bit in awe, like we were at stages.

“Some of the things our guys did, and that surge mentality we had, was pretty strong . . .

“We had a couple of important pieces come into the side.

“It’s the first game this year that Dylan (Grimes) and Nick Vlastuin have played together.

“We saw some growth by Noah Balta and (Liam) Baker going back and (Jayden) Short, I thought, was terrific through the middle of the ground.

“So, we found some pieces of the puzzle. We’ve been looking for a couple and, hopefully, we found some tonight.

Hardwick, however, was keen to put the Tigers’ massive win into perspective.

“You’ve got to understand where our opponent tonight is. They’ve had a horrible, horrible run. We can only play the opposition we’re granted, but we’re fortunate to play them now,” Hardwick said.

“We’ll get another test next week. Can we sustain it against an opposition such as Collingwood? We’ll wait and see.”