For now, their hearts feel only pain.
But the heads of Richmond captain Trent Cotchin and coach Damien Hardwick tell them the Tigers are on the right AFL path.
Sunday’s 18.8 (116) to 14.12 (96) elimination final loss to Carlton at the MCG is as shattering as AFL defeats come.
They were 32 points clear in the third term and probably should have been further ahead.
Their arch-rivals the Blues were only in the finals on default, after Essendon’s disqualification.
And in front of a record crowd of mostly Tigers supporters, Richmond faltered when it mattered most in areas they pride themselves on – winning the stoppages and winning battles in defence.
The upside is the Tigers’ best players are still young, they’ve had their first taste of finals and they’re coming off what is still clearly the club’s best season in 12 years.
“It’s probably a hard question to ask a coach after an elimination final loss, whether you see there’s a bright future,” a devastated Hardwick told reporters post-match.
“There is, we know there is.
“It’s just disappointing because the chance you have this year, it’s a long six months to sit and dwell about the what-ifs.
“That’s the most disappointing thing for myself, our coaching group and playing group.
“You put in an enormous amount of work and it seems to come to nothing.”
But Hardwick was confident the club could bounce back to achieve finals appearances in consecutive seasons, something that hasn’t occurred since 1975.
“We’ve just started to scratch the surface, which is important for our fans to know,” he said.
Cotchin described himself as shattered and expected to hurt more as he and his teammates watch the remaining finals and wonder what might have been had they hung on against the Blues.
But the galling finish won’t wipe away the sense of progress.
“We came into this year wanting to play finals,” Cotchin said.
“We had a fantastic home and away season and we spoke about this week it being nil-all and the start of a new season.
“We’ve let ourselves down in a few areas that we really pride ourselves on.
“It’s going to hurt for the next three weeks, as I said, but we’re really looking forward to getting back on the bike after a nice break and really challenging ourselves, along with our coaching staff who will be challenging us as well.
“We’ll be back better and stronger next year.”