I think you just summed up how i see the whole thing, but it;s all part of the "gameplan"
When hardwick took over the players talked about the playbooks they given with set plays and differnt setups /styles for different game situations. This wasnt anything new in the football world, just at richmond.
Whether hardwick has the correct plans in [place or can teach the players to impliment them is a different issue, but we do have in place what you describe.
I do differ though, in that when Plan B is mentioned, i'm sure people are talking about the diometrical differnt plan that the coach can turn to to magically turn a crap performance around, which just doesnt exist.
Take hawthornes comback a few weeks ago to near snatch the game. They didnt do anything different, the players just pulled their collective fingers out and starting doing what they should have been doing to the level they are capable of.
combacks and mid game turn arounds are more to do with the players than the coaches. The coaches work is mainly done during the week and besides tweaking matchups and trying to get the players to perform with what they say, they have little influence once the game is underway at this level