Resurgent Richmond Tigers dare to dream Richmond have surged into seventh spot on the ladder following their shock 41-point win over West Coast. Richmond's Dustin Martin, left, and Chris Newman embrace after their 41-point win over West Coast at Patersons Stadium on Monday night. RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick is warming to the prospect of the Tigers' first finals appearance since 2001 after his side's defeat of West Coast in Perth on Monday night, but he says they need to improve. The Tigers jumped to seventh on the ladder after a comprehensive 41-point win over the Eagles, the club's sixth success this season. More important, it was Richmond's second victory against a club in the top eight following an away win in round seven over Port Adelaide, which had won its first five games. The Eagles slipped from sixth to ninth after being held goalless in the second term and failing to halt an avalanche of unanswered Richmond goals following the quarter-time break. "We're just scratching the surface, I think," Hardwick said after the match. We've still got a lot of areas that we need to improve. We've got some players that are capable of coming back into this side. (Brandon) Ellis and (Reece) Conca will be back after the break. We've still got some areas we are deficient in that we need to improve, so let's just make sure we win our games coming up and whatever will be will be. Richmond has a bye this weekend, before playing five clubs currently in the bottom half of the ladder - Adelaide at the MCG, the Western Bulldogs, St Kilda, North Melbourne and Gold Coast. Ellis (hamstring) has not played since a 39-possession effort in round eight against Melbourne, while Conca has been sidelined since round four by a stress reaction in his right foot. He resumed in the VFL last Sunday with 24 disposals, including 12 contested, from 70 minutes of game time. The win was Richmond's best since its 62-point win over eventual runner-up Hawthorn in round nine at the MCG last year. "The great thing for us is it gives our guys a belief that if they play to their potential they are a capable side," Hardwick said. You know, we have probably only played to a six out of 10 prior to this game. We have been winning ugly. This is probably the first time that we took it to another level and played consistent footy, apart from 10 minutes in the first quarter. Former captain Chris Newman, who has not played in a final in his 223 games, said yesterday it remained a dream to do so. "At this stage we don't have any right to talk about finals," he said. (But) there is no doubt it's a different team (this year) and certainly it's very exciting. A lot of the younger boys that are coming in are contributing. We played a good game, our best for the season, but the challenge now is to string those together so we'll be looking forward to picking up where we left off, when we come back. Eagles coach John Worsfold said he could not explain his side's capitulation after quarter time. "We had opportunities where we weren't clean taking the footy," he said. Worsfold said he didn't see the inept performance coming after four straight wins against lesser-performed opposition. "I still haven't worked that one out," he said. Without the injured Sharrod Wellingham, West Coast was exposed by Richmond's pace through the midfield. The Eagles play St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Sunday before taking a break during round 12. They return to Etihad in round 13 against flag favourite Hawthorn.