Richmond's first NAB Challenge match will be a twilight fixture against the Western Bulldogs at Whitten Oval.
The Tigers will be without skipper Trent Cotchin, who is suffering "minor hamstring soreness", and joint vice-captain Brett Deledio (achilles). New leadership group member Steve Morris will be acting captain.
Midfield stars Cotchin and Deledio are both expected to play later in the pre-season competition.
Hardwick said the Tigers would go in with a young side against the Bulldogs and would filter their more establish players back into the line-up in their second and third NAB Challenge fixtures.
"It's going to be a great opportunity for our fans to get down and see the majority of our one-to-four-year players, which I'm really excited about," he said. "Every draft pick from last year will be lining up apart from Corey Ellis (foot), so it's a good opportunity for our fans to see the young talent coming through."
The coach enthused about the strong competition for key-forward spots to partner spearhead Jack Riewoldt.
"We've got (Ben) Griffiths, (Liam) McBean and Ty Vickery competing really hard and really well for (those spots)," he said.
"We're probably blessed, whereas sides are probably crying out for key forwards. We've got a lot of depth in that area so we're excited to put them all out on the park at some stages to see how they all go together.
"They're all capable goalkickers and they're all very good players, (but) we unfortunately just can't put them all in the same side. So we're just going to have to work our way through that."
The AFL has encouraged fans to pre-purchase tickets to guarantee entry and also arrive early to avoid queues before Saturday's 4.40pm clash at Whitten Oval.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-02-26/rance-still-a-chance-hardwick#sthash.IBzU2ngF.dpuf
