Highly-respected football commentator and great of the game, Leigh Matthews, believes Richmond is on track to deliver on-field success in the near future.

Speaking on afl.com.au, Matthews said Richmond’s future remained bright despite the results of the past three weeks.

“They have beaten some good teams early in the year - they have beaten Sydney by 29 points, thrashed Hawthorn by 62 points and they beat St Kilda so they are a very capable team,” Matthews said.

“At the moment, they are at the depths of despair because they have lost three really close games and I think that is the end of their season.

“But I also think you have got to look at it in the big picture that Richmond, to me, are a side that should have hope for the future.

“Sometimes with close losses, really there is a lot of good luck or good fortune that comes into it and Richmond has lost five games by 10 points or less and that means they might finish around 12th but if I was a Richmond supporter I would have a bit of hope about where they are going from next year onwards.”

The Tigers take on Brisbane Saturday night and senior coach Damien Hardwick has made it clear he wants his side to finish the season strongly.