Hinkley's heavy focus on defence worked a charm at the start of the season but the players have moved away from his plan in recent weeks, with consecutive losses the result.
He said they allowed the Tigers far too much uncontested possession last weekend, illustrated by the lopsided 148-75 mark count.
"We didn't stay true to ourselves," Hinkley said of the performance.
"We just didn't defend as hard as we needed to, we allowed Richmond clearly too much uncontested ball and clearly they made us pay a price.
"Our best method is when we're defending really hard we'll give ourselves the best chance to win.
"The game as a whole - we were just put under the microscope a bit more and we didn't handle it too well."
The anticipated return of ball-winning midfielder Dom Cassisi for Sunday's clash against Carlton should help the side's defensive cause.
The 30-year-old was a late withdrawal from last weekend's loss to Richmond because of a tight hamstring, but after the former captain trained without issue this week Hinkley named him a likely starter.
Cassisi’s experienced head and ball-winning ability in the midfield would be a huge asset for the young side.
"We're pretty sure he will be [fit] but as you know with injury you can never absolutely predict it…I'm fairly confident that Dom will be there," the coach said.
"I've just talked about some really strong defensive attitudes and Dom's played that way his whole career probably.
"He certainly brings a bit of that and he also brings some genuine hardness to the club."
Expected to make way for Cassisi is youngster Sam Colquhoun after making a solid debut against the Tigers last weekend.
Despite collecting 17 touches in his first game, Hinkley admitted the 18-year-old's slight 179cm, 72kg frame struggled with the rigours of AFL football.
"He got an opportunity basically because of Dom being unavailable…he could certainly find the ball himself, size was a little bit of an issue for him at times," he said.
"He is the youngest player in the competition, we bring him in and he contributes and does a reasonable job for us.
"He's had an opportunity to have an AFL game and it's part of his journey."
