RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick thinks the Tigers can quickly bounce back into future finals contention despite the disappointment of 2016.

He scoffed at suggestions star midfielder Brett Deledio should be traded and said the club was looking for more players to reach the standards Deledio, Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin, Jack Riewoldt and Alex Rance consistently reach.

"We've got some incredible talent," Hardwick said on Thursday.

"We're after more players [who can] play, what we call, above the line, playing not just to a capable standard … we're after more players who can jump up."

Hardwick said he was pleased with the players who had joined Richmond through the last two drafts, with Corey Ellis, Connor Menadue and Daniel Rioli all performing well at senior level.

He defended his claim that Richmond's list was the best he' had seen in his time at Richmond, saying the upside of the youngsters enthused him.

"People only see the 22 we put other there, the top of the iceberg. What I am excited about is what is underneath. That is really exciting for us and we are going to see some of those boys play," Hardwick said.

He said the team was looking to springboard into 2017 in the remaining eight weeks now that finals were out of the picture.

Hardwick said Nathan Drummond, Ben Lennon, Jason Castagna and Liam McBean were all likely to get opportunities in the senior line-up in the final part of the season if their form in the VFL deserved it.

In the immediate term Richmond will bring back ruckman Shaun Hampson after he missed a week with a knee injury.

He conceded veteran Ivan Maric had battled in his first game back after a long stint in the VFL.

Rioli has put his name forward after making 13 tackles in the VFL on Sunday.

"He looked a class above on the weekend, his speed, agility and his tackling," Hardwick.

He said the youngster was working on winning more uncontested ball to add more polish to his game because his endeavour and courage were second to none.