Despite the poor performance on Saturday against GWS, Hardwick is upbeat about their unique round-24 assignment.
They are ninth, but have a game in hand and will start favourites in their two games. The unlucky team to drop out of the eight is likely to be the loser of Sunday's blockbuster between the Western Bulldogs and Fremantle at Marvel Stadium.
The early-season home game between Gold Coast and Essendon that was postponed because of a cyclone will be played on Wednesday week - the last match before the finals.
The Suns will also have a tricky away assignment this Friday night against Port Adelaide, who will farewell coach Ken Hinkley and veteran Travis Boak.
Hardwick said there was no doubt his team had struggled against the Giants in the wake of the death of Jackson Graham, the brother of Suns player Will.
"We were just off ... the GPS (numbers) for us was the one - our whole squad was just down," Hardwick told AFL360.
"The challenge for us is we had a really tough week-and-a-half with the loss of Will Graham's brother.
"The emotional toll on our community and our playing group and our club ... it hit our boys pretty hard.
"It was something we'd do exactly the same again - sometimes you just have to wear the bumps."
Hardwick said in their post-game review, they compared footage of their previous three wins to how they looked against the Giants.
He added they looked "boring" against GWS.
"It was just noticeable that we played with no speed, no dare," he said.
"We're not searching for answers, we're just searching for a response. We know what it looks like when we play our best."
Hardwick expects Graham to be available again in the first week of the finals - and is bullish about the Suns being there.
"Port Adelaide have a very important game for an outstanding coach ... and an all-important player in the history of their footy club," he said.
"But it is less about about Port Adelaide, in my view, and more just about how we play the game.
"It's exciting - we want to lean in and embrace it.
"In theory, we have a two-game season. It's either we win one and make finals or we win two and our give ourselves a chance at top four."
Hardwick and Essendon coach Brad Scott were philosophical about the timing of their rescheduled game.
"We would have ideally liked to play in the round-four bye. But just the machinations of the fixture and making it as fair as possible for everyone, it was the logical decision," Scott said.
"It was the best outcome in a difficult circumstance."
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