The Tigers almost clinched a surprise victory over West Coast on Sunday but fell 10 points short, leaving them in a precarious position after five rounds.
Despite a strong win over Melbourne, the Tigers have lost to Carlton, Collingwood, Geelong and the Eagles - all teams that finished in the top five last year.
Hardwick said the club's percentage (94.42) indicated it had not been blown away by the tough start to the year, but added the Tigers needed to turn close losses into wins if they were to move up the ladder.
"Our season really starts now," Hardwick said.
"We've got to start gaining some ground on the opposition. It was always going to be a tough start [to the year]. We knew that. We won the game that most people probably pencilled in for us to win.
"I think this group has come a hell of a way now where we come into games expecting to win. No longer is it 'Jeez, I hope we get close'."
Hardwick was encouraged by what he saw against the Eagles, a premiership favourite, on Sunday. He said a major lesson would be taking opportunities when they presented themselves, with the Tigers missing two crucial shots in the dying minutes to win the game.
Hardwick said consecutive tight losses to Geelong and the Eagles had been a "step forward" and that the club's brand of footy - "the guys have a crack," he said - was starting to resonate with people.
But he admitted there was more frustration to come before the club got to the point it needed to.
"We're making inroads," Hardwick said. "We just need to get there quicker and get better at a few things, and we'll get there.
"It's just going to take a few more frustrating losses unfortunately like that, which take the wind out of your sails. But I've got no doubt this group will bounce back."
Tigers vice-captain Trent Cotchin was Richmond's best player in the defeat, finding 29 disposals. But he agreed with Hardwick's assessment that converting chances might have been the difference.
"We won a few centre clearances in a row [in the last quarter] and we tried to put the pressure on them to hold it in there as much as we could," Cotchin said.
"We just missed a couple of opportunities where we could have kicked goals and the scoreboard ends up a different story. But that's how footy is and you've got to take those opportunities."
Callum Twomey is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter at @AFL_CalTwomey. blog comments powered by Disqus
