Hardwick, after coaching his first official game, said he would use lessons learned from the defeat to hasten the development process his young squad was facing.
"This is as poor as we're going to get, as poor as I'm going to be as a head coach and as poor as the team is going to be also," a disappointed Hardwick said after the game.
"It's a learning progress and we've just got to get better a hell of a lot quicker.
Hardwick noted that 14 players had been brought to the club since he took the reins, and said that developing a new style of play would take time.
He singled out debutants Ben Nason, Relton Roberts and Dustin Martin as showing good signs in their first matches, and also highlighted the efforts of some more experienced players.
"Jack Riewoldt showed he could be a really good player for this footy club," Hardwick said.
"We've just got to add to that talent and continue to develop the talent we've already got."
The coach believed a combination of tired legs and lack of composure accounted for his team's lack of run in the second half, when the Blues blew the margin out from 19 points to almost 10 goals.
"We've got a fair way to go, we know that. There were some good signs but we're still disappointed with the way we faded out," he said.
"I thought we were in the game in the first half but the third quarter was diabolical, really.
"We missed tackles, turned the ball over and progressively got worse after about two and a half quarters.
"Whilst there were some really good signs early, we were disappointed with the way we faded out."
