DAMIEN Hardwick says the hunger is still there from Richmond to chase a third straight premiership following its shock 10-point loss to Gold Coast on Thursday night.
The Tigers could be outside the top eight at the end of the round following the loss at Marvel Stadium.
After kicking just two goals against St Kilda last week, Richmond again struggled against the hungry Suns.
Hardwick conceded his team had lost confidence but said there was still life in their season.
"Our group are very proud," he said.
"We're first to admit we're not playing anywhere near the capacity we think we can and we've got to get better in a lot of facets of our game."
Hardwick said confidence was a funny thing that could go just as quickly as it could come.
"Confidence is low at the moment," he said.
"When you lack confidence you're one step behind. Instead of being proactive, you react.
"We've just got to build them up and get them better.
"We're not playing our very best footy.
"I've still got a firm belief we're not too far off it, but we certainly have a lot of work to do."
Richmond added some more names to its growing injury list with young ruck-forward Callum Coleman-Jones hobbling off just before half-time with a calf injury.
Veterans Nick Vlastuin and Shane Edwards also left the field at different times but played the game out.
