Riewoldt become the first Richmond player to kick 10 goals in a match since Matthew Richardson against the Western Bulldogs in 2004.
Riewoldt had 19 possessions in Richmond’s second win of the season, including nine marks - seven of which were contested - and finished the match with 10.3.
“Jack Riewoldt had a great individual game,” Hardwick said.
“He has been in terrific form - the pleasing thing is our guys are starting to deliver the ball inside 50 a hell of a lot better. Credit to those guys up the ground kicking it to a favoured side and letting Jack use his body, which he does very well.
“He is a guy we will build around but we certainly need some other key forwards to stand up as well.”
The Tigers started the game in sensational fashion, kicking six goals to two in the opening term with Riewoldt (five first quarter goals) and Dustin Martin leading the way with 14 first-quarter possessions.
“It was an outstanding first term - there is no doubt he got us going I thought his attack on the ball was terrific,” Hardwick said of the performance of Martin in the first term.
After the Eagles had mounted a challenge early in the third quarter, it was the senior trio of Ben Cousins, Brett Deledio and captain Chris Newman that led the way, to the delight of Hardwick.
“We had those three guys steady the ship. West Coast hit us pretty hard for a 10-minute block there and I thought those guys stood up really well,” he said.
“To have quality players stand up and just contain their movement for a while was good.”
Hardwick admitted the devastating three point loss to the Hawks in round eight has been the catalyst for a reversal of form, with the Tiger youngsters growing in confidence every week.
“From round eight onwards we have been pretty competitive for most of our games,” he said.
“The players to their credit have been really positive throughout the whole process - the more consistent we get in that application the better we will be.”
