Many Tigers were down in what was billed as a clash of two heavyweights. Among those was high-profile recruit Tom Lynch, who bagged 1.2 and sent three out of bounds.
Hardwick fiercely defended Tom Lynch, saying he was often playing against multiple defenders as he came off a PCL reconstruction.
“I thought he looked lively early but the fact of the matter is we have a one man key forward line without Jack (Riewoldt)."
"I know people keep looking for him to be this messiah but the reality is that's not what we got him for," Hardwick said.
"We got him to create contests. We haven't had a settled forward line all year."
His pre-season was severely limited by recovery from a knee issue that required two surgeries from midway through 2018.
"Ideally, did we think Tom would play 11 or 12 games straight up? Probably not, but with the hand we've been dealt at the moment, he's probably been asked to do it and he hasn't complained one bit," Hardwick said.
"We've got to remember he's done it on a very, very limited base. He's only training once a week at the moment. After the break, he'll train twice a week, which once again will improve his ability to get around the ground."
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