Richmond coach Damien Hardwick wants the pain of the Tigers’ disappointing 2014 elimination final loss to be the catalyst for them to take a quantum leap in 2015. 

Hardwick, in his speech at tonight’s Jack Dyer Medal function, described this season as a mixed bag, and implored the players to work harder than ever, in an effort to bring sustained success to Tigerland.

Watch the live webcast of the 2014 Jack Dyer Medal

“In short, the first half of the season was unacceptable, the second half of the season was admirable and the players showed great resilience – but the wash-up is that we did not improve when it mattered most, and that is bitterly disappointing,” Hardwick said.

“Yes, consecutive years of finals football is an important step forward, and we need to consistently play football in September to give ourselves a chance, but losing in elimination finals doesn’t have any of us sleeping soundly at night.

“We must not accept what has happened in the past two years, or feel in any way comfortable that we have achieved something.  We haven’t, and to think anything different will lead us nowhere.

“We told the players exactly that when we reviewed our elimination final loss a couple of weeks ago. We embarrassed ourselves, and our Club, with that performance.  It has got to cut deep, it has got to genuinely hurt.

“And, we will find out when the players and coaches return for pre-season, who was really hurt by what happened.

“The relentless drive to improve in the following months – that will be there for all to see – will tell us if it really hurt and may well shape the side for Round 1, 2015.

“We need a burning desire to keep raising our standards, and there will be nowhere to hide in the pursuit of that . . . it has to be a collective effort and a collective accountability.

“The players must ask themselves:  Do I want to play in a good team or a great team?  Do I want to finish my career as just another AFL footballer, or an AFL footballer with great stories of collective success and lifelong bonds with former teammates?

“Of course, we all choose the latter, but to choose the latter takes commitment and sacrifice.

“I’m very confident nobody wants to let this Club down from the moment they set foot in the place to start the 2015 pre-season . . .

“The greatest positive out of season 2014 is that we know we have it in us.  The greatest challenge for 2015 is to deliver on that from Round 1 onwards.”