RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick says the Tigers' season starts now after jumping back into the top-eight with a win over St Kilda.
The Tigers' hard-fought 33-point win at Marvel Stadium catapulted them right back into finals contention and came as they welcomed back a host of stars from injury layoffs.
Hardwick admitted post-game that making seven changes to the line-up that lost to Adelaide in round 13, plus their 17-day break between games due to the bye, made for a scratchy start for his side against the Saints.
WHAT'S YOUR FINAL 5? Attend any five of our last seven games at the 'G
But with eight rounds remaining and his side finally starting to get over its injury worries, Hardwick said the Tigers are priming themselves for a big finish to the year.
"I was really proud of the way we hung tough under difficult circumstances. Us and a lot of other sides had gone through a similar [injury] run, but our season really does start now," he said.
"The competition's incredibly even. But we've got to make sure we build into the second part of the year.
"We got some players back this week, Jack [Riewoldt] is not too far away, [Toby] Nankervis is not too far away, which is exciting for us, and hopefully then we can start to gain some momentum.
"Have we been playing our best footy? No. But we know our best footy is probably in front of us."
Riewoldt has not played since round six but is back training at full speed and pushing for a recall next week against Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium.
"He's a slight chance. He's got me convinced, he's just got to convince the doctor, I think. He's training really, really well, which probably doesn't help my cause because you see him train and you think 'Gee, he looks a good player', which he is," Hardwick said.
"But our docs are very good at making these decisions for me, so I'll leave it completely up to them. So, Richmond fans, it won't be my decision it'll be the doctor's, so feel free to email him."
Hardwick praised young pair Sydney Stack (four goals) and Mabior Chol (three goals) for their contribution against the Saints in a make-shift Tigers forward line.
"That's the exuberance of youth the excitement they bring. Sydney's obviously been a really good player for us this year and Mabior we've hung on to because we see what he can do," Hardwick said.
"Today's certainly the best game he's played, and you can see why he's hung around our footy club. He's certainly got some talent, he's just got to learn to get the consistency of AFL. I think he can be a player for us."
