Damien Hardwick will alter Richmond’s game plan in bid to stay ahead of the competitionLAUREN WOOD,
Herald Sun
3 November 2017RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick is forecasting a shake-up of the Tigers’ premiership-winning game plan as the reigning champions look to stay ahead of the game.
Hardwick — who on Saturday returned to where it all began at his junior club Upwey-Tecoma in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges — said he recently sat down and watched the victorious Grand Final with his family, and that some two months on, what the group achieved is yet to sink in.
But what he does know is that the team — which employed Jack Riewoldt as its only key forward on many occasions this year — could start its transformation with the small attacking setup that set it apart from the competition in 2017.
“I’ve got no doubt it will change again,” Hardwick said of the team’s strategy.
“We might start with the small forwards, we might find a key forward that jumps up.
“The game evolves and we’ve got to evolve with it.”
Hardwick played all of his junior football with the Upwey-Tecoma Tigers, winning the 1989 under 17s premiership in a team coached by his father Noel in his last game for the club.
The pair showed off their respective silverware at the club on Saturday with the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League outfit launching a fundraising drive in an effort to raise $150,000 to fit out its new sports and community facility that is currently under construction.
“In your first Grand Final as a player, to be coached by your old man and have him yell at you from pillar to post and then get the result in the end, it was a great day,” Hardwick told Channel 7.
Damien Hardwick says Richmond’s drought-breaking premiership win is still yet to sink in.
“I learned a lot of life lessons here (at Upwey-Tecoma) and met the lovely Mrs Hardwick here, you’d be happy to know.”
Noel Hardwick said having his son as one of his charges often posed some difficulty — particularly when trying to get a point across as many coaches do.
“When I gave him a blast, I’d look him in the eye and then I’d quickly move on,” Hardwick Snr said.
“I never held the moment.”
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