from the RFC site....Cousins is one of six changes the Tigers made for round three, with Alex Rance, Shane Tuck, Dean Polo and Matthew White all playing their first games this season.
"We're looking to give some others a chance," Hardwick said.
"A guy like Alex Rance has played well in the reserves as have Tuck and Polo. Some of the guys that went out were probably a little bit stiff but we thought we could get some more input from the guys coming in."
Ball-winner Shane Tuck returns to the senior side for the first time in 2010 after the coaching staff worked with him in the off-season to adjust his role in the side.
"We feel with our midfield with Cotchin, Deledio and Martin, that we needed to reconfigure Tucky in a way. So you'll see him playing a different role, which he's excited about and I'm excited about too," Hardwick said.
"It's good to have him back in the side ... he's a competitive man and that's what I like about him, so hopefully he comes in this week and has a good game."
Mature-age recruit Relton Roberts has also been given a chance to prove himself after a lacklustre AFL debut in round one.
"We felt he deserved another chance to show us what he's got. We think he's going to be a player for our future so we want to give him every opportunity to show us how he can play."
Will Thursfield (leg) and Mitch Farmer (leg) will be sidelined this week due to injury, while small forward Robin Nahas, Jake King, Tom Hislop and Adam Thomson have been dropped.
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/91951/default.aspxHardwick admitted the Tigers' learning curve was a steep one after successive hidings by Carlton and the Western Bulldogs to start the season.
But he was pleased with the way his young players were responding to the challenges.
"You learn something every week and every week we highlighted three areas, and we look for improvement in those areas against Sydney,'' Hardwick said.
"We're reasonably happy with where we're at and the way we're learning, and we just want to get better.''
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/ricky-olarenshaw-apologises-for-ben-cousins-rumours/story-e6frf9jf-1225851819849