Hardwick said it was only a "matter of time" before Lynch and Riewoldt fired together. Before Tuesday night's match they had just 22 goals between them through nine rounds.
"Our boys rose to the challenge, they’ve been putting in a hell of a lot of hard work and finally got the outcome they’ve been looking for," Hardwick said.
Richmond was ruthless against a wasteful Lions and will now prepare for competition leaders Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon.
"I thought we came out pretty hard, they had their chances and I think we left a lot of goals on the table as well," Hardwick said.
"We probably tried to overuse the ball a little bit inside 50 and butchered a few chances.
"We've got a formidable challenge over in Adelaide this week - they are sitting on top of the ladder, play a dynamic brand of footy."
Source: AFL website