Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has urged his players to continue to earn back the respect of its fans in the final six weeks of the season.

The Tigers strung together three-straight wins before the bye for the split round, including their first win over a team above them on the ladder.

The 20-point win over Port Adelaide in Round 17 was the Club’s sixth for the season, after victories against 17th placed Brisbane, and bottom side St Kilda in the two weeks prior.

“To play against a quality opponent, get the result and especially play the want we wanted to, was really important,” Hardwick said.

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“It’s a good confidence builder for our blokes, but we’ve certainly got to continue to play well.  We’ve been really disappointing this year.

“Our supporters have trudged out week in, week out, and we haven’t quite got the result we’re after.  We have to continue to play good footy and get some wins on the board.”

Hardwick suggested Richmond’s record of six wins and 10 losses is not a true reflection of its true ability.

He acknowledged the Tigers only had themselves to blame after a disappointing start to the season, especially with the competition at its fiercest for some time.

“This year is really even.  You look at the wins of the bottom four sides this year, compared to last year – they’ve probably nearly doubled,” he said.

“The competitiveness of the competition has got a lot better.  There’s not much difference between the side that’s fifth on the ladder and the side that’s 12th.

“Week in, week out, there can be a variance of results.  From our point of view we’re not as far away as what the win/loss column suggests.

“We just need to continue to work hard, continue to find players who are going to take us forward, and more importantly, get wins on the board.

“We need to continue to earn the respect of our fans back.”