Richmond has drawn on West Coast’s path to the 2006 premiership as a valuable history lesson, in the wake of its disappointing elimination final loss to Port Adelaide this year.

“Every side has a story, and every side has to pay a price,” Hardwick said.

“We went through some teams in history . . . West Coast, for example, lost three elimination finals (2002-04), before they won a Grand Final. 

“We showed the boys that you have to go through a period of paying the price and, in effect, this is our story.

“We’ve just got to make sure we learn from it and get better.

“I still think we’re a side very capable of winning some finals footy.

“The fact of the matter is you’ve got to get back there to give yourself another chance.

“We’ve done that over the last two years, but we’ve just got to make sure we continue to set the scene.

“The big thing for us is we don’t want to miss out on finals again going forward.  We’ve got to make sure we give ourselves the opportunity.

“You don’t get a God-given right because you made it last year . . . you don’t automatically qualify.

“Our 3-10 start was testament that you’ve got to play well and get your season up and going.  So, we’ll be looking to rectify that, also.”