Richmond currently sits 14th on the AFL ladder after five games with only one win (against Sydney) next to their name, but it's not all doom and gloom.

After a turbulent 18 months which saw three-time premiership coach Damien Hardwick surprisingly depart halfway through 2023 as well as club legends Trent Cotchin and Jack Reiwoldt shortly after, it was time for change at Punt Road.

The golden era was over and a rebuild appeared to be a necessity.

Untried senior coach Adem Yze landed the role following successful stints at Hawthorn and Melbourne as an assistant coach.

Tipped to be a bottom-four side, Tigers fans are wondering when they're going to see their next premiership albeit having seen enough for a lifetime.

But what we've seen so far in 2024 is as impressive as you can get without seeing a return on wins.

Aside from the Opening Round loss to Gold Coast by 39 points, Richmond's last month of football should have yielded more victories than one.

A five-point loss to Carlton was up for grabs while the shoot-out against Port Adelaide was a 50-50 outcome until late in the last term.

And more recently, the seven-point defeat to St Kilda at Norwood Oval during the AFL's Gather Round.

Saints coach Ross Lyon spoke glowingly of the Tigers' efforts on Sunday, pleading with his players to "don't fall for the narrative".

"To Richmond's credit, they fought right to the last second, which I warned (the players)," Lyon said post-game.

"I've watched them, they're playing with spirit, their leaders and top five players are playing good footy, don't fall for the narrative.

"Could've beaten Carlton easily, beat the Swans.

"I knew, but sometimes players fall into the narrative they read."

However, Yze's hand has been limited by the availability of key personnel with experienced stars Tom Lynch, Dion Prestia, Dustin Martin, Jack Graham, Dylan Grimes, Jacob Hopper and Noah Balta missing for extended periods.

But as we know, if you stand still in football, you get left behind and Richmond, similar to their premiership era, aren't going to die wondering.

Yze has admirably managed to shoulder on and get his side into a winning position but puts it down to the execution in crucial moments.

"I can't doubt our effort and our attitude with our players, they try hard every game we've been in and it was just execution," Yze said post-game.

"The difference with the polish, I think in the third (quarter) when they had momentum and they kicked 6.6. When we had momentum in the last, we kicked 2.3.

"That's going to happen. We've got some young players, we've got a lot of young players getting an opportunity because of the injuries we've got. As I said, the effort and attitude of our players were strong throughout the game, but it was just the polish in the end.

"So it's going to be expected that our polish and our synergy in our front end will take a little bit of time.

"The learnings will be terrific."

Richmond will come in as favourites for the first time this season when they travel to Optus Stadium to take on West Coast.