Richmond admit they have been impressed by veteran midfielder Ben Cousins and say he could line up with the Tigers again next season.

Coach Damien Hardwick says the AFL club will discuss Cousins' position later this year but acknowledges the strong possibility he could play on.

"That ball's entirely in Ben's court," Hardwick said on Wednesday.

"As you can see his last three to four weeks have been very, very good.

"He was probably pretty slow at the start. I reckon his first five or six rounds weren't great but he did have an interrupted pre-season.

"We'll make a decision towards the end of the year. That will be a list management decision but he's doing all he can to propel himself forward."

Meanwhile, as Richmond prepares to meet Sydney next week with three wins under their belt, Hardwick says the mood at Punt Road has changed.

"I think after the (round eight) Hawthorn game our guys found a standard they were really happy with and have built on that.

"It's amazing, belief in a footy club is such an important factor and confidence within a player is even more so.

"Our group at the moment are going well, we've got a fair way to go but we've made some inroads, there's no doubt."

He said that with back-to-back wins, the Tigers now felt they could compete with most sides.

"I think so. Most sides are like that, you've only got to look at Fremantle - their personnel over the course of 12 months didn't change that much but all of a sudden they've become a top four side," he said.

"To see the emergence of guys like Dustin Martin, the continued improvement of Trent Cotchin, Brett Deledio...Chris Newman's in some outstanding form.

"Some individual performances have been very, very good."

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