There are many differences between the 2013 edition of AFL side Richmond that offered so much promise and the 2014 version that has so far disappointed.

Some are temporary, such as the absence of injured key players Alex Rance, Brett Deledio and Ivan Maric.

Some appear more entrenched, like the team’s lack of run and cautious approach with the ball in hand.

The Tigers finished 2013 one win short of the top four, but this season are 2-4 and next face Geelong on Sunday.

“We were absolutely entitled to assume that we could make finals this year,” club chief executive Brendon Gale said on Monday.

“There’s no white flags here. This season is alive and so are we.”

But what has gone so horribly wrong?

“A lot of explanations but we make no excuses,” Gale noted.

He admitted the absence of Rance and Deledio, both considered a good chance of returning from injury on the weekend, had hurt more than was expected.

“With those players out … at times we’ve lacked composure and execution and that’s had an impact on our confidence,” he said.

The man who played 244 games for Richmond pointed to the fact his club was rebuilding in the most competitive era in AFL history.

“We haven’t been able to benefit from the draft, as the draft was originally intended,” Gale said of recent drafts compromised by the glut of picks handed to expansion sides.

Club legend Kevin Bartlett was among those questioning the Tigers’ inability to take the game on.

“There was a bit of dare in the Richmond side then,” Bartlett said of their resurgence last year.

“(Now) they are so slow at moving the ball, and when they do their skills are appalling.”

Gale, speaking at the launch of a partnership with Cardinia Shire Council, agreed such scrutiny was warranted.

“At times the players have played as though they are concerned about the result,” he said.

Defender Dylan Grimes told the club website they were making progress in moving the ball forward quicker.

“There were patches where we did do it,” Grimes said.

“It showed that we’ve improved on recent weeks.

“That’s something we’ll really try and drive (against Geelong).”

Bartlett said all was not lost this early in the season.

“They’re a lot better than what they are showing at the moment,” he told radio station SEN.

“You would think there is enough talent there to actually turn it around.”