Even without star forward Jack Riewoldt - who was missing his second straight game with an eye injury - the Richmond had enough firepower to beat the in-form Hawks, who now found themselves six points adrift of eighth-placed Essendon with three rounds to play.

But while Hawthorn's chances look shot, the Tigers appear to be in the premiership hunt, having ended round 20 in third spot on the ladder ahead of a date with fourth-placed Geelong at Simonds Stadium next Saturday.

Hardwick said the club was confident Riewoldt would return to face the Cats - who will be without injured captain Joel Selwood - but said his side had impressed in the forward's absence on Sunday.

In particular Josh Caddy shone to finish with 28 disposals and four goals rotating through the midfield and forward line, with Hardwick suggesting after the match that both Caddy and fellow off-season recruit Dion Prestia had played their best game for the club. Prestia helped limit the impact of gun Hawks midfielder Tom Mitchell while also finishing with 31 disposals and a goal to his name.

Hardwick suggested that other clubs would be relieved that they are now highly unlikely to face the Hawks - premiers in three of the last four seasons - in the finals. "They've been a form side of the competition. I think there's a lot of sides thankful for us for beating them, because they were coming. Playing those guys in September's a bit of a concern, so it's a good win," Hardwick said.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said the absence of suspended veteran Luke Hodge had hurt the Hawks, lamenting his side's poor ball use for much of the game. "We didn't play very well," Clarkson said.

Asked if Richmond looked like a legitimate premiership contender, Clarkson said the Tigers were just one of "11 or 12 sides that could win it."

"It's an unbelievably even season. They're doing everything right at the present time but you need to be doing everything right in September," he said.

"Dare I say it, if we had have been able to sneak in I reckon we could've given it a shake as well.":

Clarkson hinted that the loss meant that a host of experienced Hawks including Ben Stratton, Cyril Rioli, Grant Birchall, Josh Gibson and James Frawley could all remain sidelined until season's end. However positively for the club, injury-prone midfielder Jaeger O'Meara could make his long-awaited return from a knee injury in the VFL over the next fortnight.