Hardwick says Tigers moved on from devastating finals loss to Carlton (H-Sun)

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Richmond coach Damien Hardwick says Tigers moved on from devastating finals loss to Carlton

    Michael Warner
    Herald Sun
    February 08, 2014 7:00PM

ASK a candid Damien Hardwick how many times he's watched a replay of Richmond's finals capitulation against Carlton.

"A lot of times," the Tigers coach fires back.

"Fox Footy is killing me. Every time I turn it on it's there."

It's been 154 days since Richmond flopped in its long-awaited return to September and Hardwick knows precisely why it happened. He reels off the match stats as if it were yesterday.

"There are a couple of outliers in that game. Our defensive 50 contested ball was one out of the box. We were No. 1 in that stat prior to that game ... and we had a really bad result ... I think we went down minus 18 in that area," he says

"The other one was clearances. Once again we were one of the better sides in the competition and had a really bad day in the second half. I think we only gave up 77 goals for the year (from clearances) but we gave up 11 in that game.

"They were two significant areas that we were really disappointed with on the day. But how much do you put into context the season we had as compared to that one bad loss?

"You've got to be careful that you don't overreact to it.

"It's like any bad loss, you look at it. But did we (the coaching staff) pay any more attention to it because it was a final? Probably a little bit."

Hardwick said the Carlton loss hadn't been used as a motivational tool for the playing group over summer.

"No. It's more about going forward, what our expectations are, we've raised them again as a side," he said at the club's Warrnambool community camp.

"We think we are capable of taking our game to another level. And the good thing about it is, the higher your expectations that's where you get your best result.

"That's what we are putting on our players. We're not setting a ceiling as such but we are certainly setting a floor of our expectations this year.

"This is a footy club that hasn't played in successive finals since 1974-75, and that's not good enough. That's something we have to strive to rectify.

"The thing with us though, is we've got to remember the top eight rarely changes after about the first 12 or 13 rounds. So we've got to make sure we start hot and start hard early.

"There's no point worrying about the end result, you've got to get the start right."

A focus on a fast start to 2014 has seen training cranked up to breakneck speed in recent weeks under fitness manager Peter Burge.

Injury-prone defender Dylan Grimes felt tightness in his troubled right hamstring last week, but the club says missing the Warrnambool camp was only precautionary. Midfielder Reece Conca, who ripped his left hamstring tendon in the Carlton final, is back in full training.

Hardwick, 41 - entering his fifth year as Richmond coach - will have a healthy roster to pick from for the club's opening NAB Challenge clash against Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

His football department boasts full resources thanks to former president Gary March and chief executive Brendon Gale.

The Tigers will field a stand-alone VFL side based at Punt Rd this season.

March stepped aside late last year, replaced by Peggy O'Neal, footy's first female president.

For the first time in a long time, stability reins. There are no more excuses.

Hardwick says the club is getting better at "being Richmond" and the baggage that comes with it.

"I think so. Footy clubs are a bi-product of their people and I think we have got an outstanding group of people within our footy club through Brendon Gale, Peggy (and) our recruiting staff, (led by) Francis (Jackson)," he says.

"We're all on the same page, we all want the same thing. Our playing group under Trent (Cotchin) and his leadership. We all realise where we are at but more importantly where we want to be.

"Whether there's any stigma attached to it, we don't think there is. We just go about our business and work incredibly hard. We've got a plan in place, we are improving and we still realise we've got a fair way to go.

"What we've got to remember is our club has been a successful club. Have we had a lean period over the last 20 to 30 years? Yes. But I think the thing that has been outstanding is our (club) ... has stood up and devised a plan that they think will get us back to where we need to go.

"Funnily enough most clubs have plans, but it's easy to devise one, it's harder to stick through one. You look at the most successful clubs in the land, stability is generally the one thing that gets them through.

"That's one thing our club is very keen on."

This year's Champion Data prospectus says Richmond's recruiting with its first pick in the AFL national draft since 2006 has been outstanding.

The group includes Nick Vlastuin, Brandon Ellis, Conca, Dustin Martin, Tyrone Vickery, Cotchin, Alex Rance and Jack Riewoldt.

Only defender Ben Griffiths, a developing tall taken with pick No. 19 in 2009, carries a question mark.

They're the sort of statistics the Tigers hope will finally deliver another era of sustained success.

Hardwick recalled a recent encounter with Richmond great Dick Clay, a four-time premiership player from their golden era.

"His exact words or along the lines were, 'I'm sick of holding the baton', which means he's ready to pass it on," the coach said.

"And I think our boys, whether it's this year, next year or the year after, I'm not too sure, but they're willing to take it."

Read more: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/richmond-coach-damien-hardwick-says-tigers-moved-on-from-devastating-finals-loss-to-carlton/story-e6frf7jo-1226821396261#ixzz2silrZWiV

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Damien Hardwick says nothing short of finals footy is acceptable for Richmond in 2014

   Peter Hanlon
    The Age
    February 9, 2014

When looking back to move forward, Damien Hardwick is careful not to let the loss that ended Richmond's 2013 detract from the progress made last season in yellow and black. But that hasn't stopped him being drawn to the elimination final rematch like a moth to a flame.

''Fox Footy's killing me - every time I put it on it seems to be playing,'' Hardwick says, chuckling at the masochism of football coaches, who spend a disproportionate amount of time watching replays of events that caused great pain, as if the ending might somehow be different if it's endured just one more time.

He laughs, too, at the prospect that Danielle Hardwick has been subjected to the events of that bittersweet September afternoon often enough to give a comprehensive account of what the Tigers did wrong and save her husband yet another airing. Certainly, she could tell him he'll never be able to change the script - that Richmond will always lead its first final in 12 years by 32 points in the third quarter, yet the screen will for ever be filled with an exasperated coach leaving his seat after Eddie Betts shackles Alex Rance at half-back and Jeff Garlett romps away with the ball, every goal-bound bounce another dagger in Tiger hearts.

''I'll always find myself watching the losses more than the wins; you'll always find something different that you're looking for,'' Hardwick says. ''I'm like anyone - I love our game. I'm not a big telly watcher - I watch movies, but other than that, next thing I know, 'Oh, that game's on …' I'll watch any game half the time.'' Only a cursory revisitation of the elimination final was needed to confirm Richmond stumbled in two areas that had been a bedrock of its season.

''Our defensive-50 contested ball was out of the box,'' Hardwick says. ''We were No.1 in that stat prior to that game, and we had a really bad result. I think we went down minus-50 in that area.'' Goals from clearances was another damning anomaly, one that became terminal in the second half. ''We only gave up 77 goals for the year, but we gave up 11 in that game alone,'' he says.

Among the many things that distinguishes a life in football from ''normal'' jobs is the surety that coaches find the holiday period a drag, and can't wait to get back to the office. After a couple of weeks at Port Douglas visiting Danielle's family, and more goading that his biggest flaw is the computer that's forever in his lap, he returned to work hellbent on making Richmond better still.

''We've raised [expectations] again as a side, we think we're capable of taking our game to another level,'' Hardwick says. ''The higher your expectations, that's where you get your best result, and that's what we're putting on our players.'' At times that yearning need for one of the game's biggest clubs to deliver has been a millstone around Richmond's neck, but Hardwick's off-season pronouncements have made clear it is now embraced. There is no ceiling on 2014 aspirations, only a floor - nothing short of finals will do.

Improvement is sought from everyone on the list, with no hesitation to identify individuals or groups (eg, Reece Conca and his fellow 2010 draftees Jake Batchelor and Brad Helbig). A fast start to the season has been demanded, the rationale being that the eight rarely changes after 12 or 13 rounds. The catastrophic potential of a one-three or zero-four start is not being entertained.

''This is a footy club that hasn't played in successive finals since '74-75, and that's not good enough, and something we've got to strive to rectify,'' Hardwick says.

From day one of the new campaign, it was clear the players were on board. Despite a shorter break, they fronted for the pre-season already in great shape. The coach says ''an enormous amount'' has been crammed into a short time, but is fully aware 17 other clubs have been training at what he calls ''breakneck speed'' as well.

''It comes with maturity,'' he says of the group's willingness to work without eyes peeking over shoulders. ''The guys, they want to win. They had a taste last year of what it takes to play finals footy, and how exciting that was.

''I've been very fortunate to be part of some clubs that have played really big games, but I don't think I've heard anything like that roar of the Carlton and Richmond people. You want to get back to that, but it's a long road.''

Hardwick prizes stability in football clubs - from board, through administration to football department. Through chief executive Brendon Gale, Gary March and his successor Peggy O'Neal, the first female AFL club president, Francis Jackson's recruiting team and the myriad arms of an AFL club, he has seen the strands come together. Entering his fifth season as coach, he views Richmond only through the lens of his time.

He can't be accused of inaction; of the 38 senior and eight rookie-listed players who were Tigers he began in 2010, only 14 remain. A steeliness is building in defence and midfield, stars are widening their skill-sets; Dustin Martin will spend more time launching attacks off half-back this year, Jack Riewoldt has fined down, fuelling expectation that he will play higher up the ground.

Hardwick and modern-day Richmond don't subscribe to the stigma of old Richmond, and he couldn't speak to the notion that the more seasoned among the group - Chris Newman, Brett Deledio, et al - might still be burdened by the past in a way that Conca, Brandon Ellis and Nick Vlastuin wouldn't. He prefers to recall a chance meeting with Dick Clay a year or two ago, and what the legend of Tiger glory years told him.

''His exact words were, 'I'm sick of holding the baton'. Which means he's ready to pass it on, and I think our boys - whether this year, next year or the year after, I'm not too sure - but they're willing to take it.''

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/damien-hardwick-says-nothing-short-of-finals-footy-is-acceptable-for-richmond-in-2014-20140208-328nx.html

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Goals from clearances was another damning anomaly, one that became terminal in the second half. ''We only gave up 77 goals for the year, but we gave up 11 in that game alone,'' Hardwick says.

It would be interesting to see this stat against each club. I would guess we give up more centre clearance goals against Carlton and Collingwood, especially in a row. They both seem to have the knack of quick scoring bursts out of the guts against us. Carlton's is always after half-time in recent years and we don't have the legs left to counter it .   

''This is a footy club that hasn't played in successive finals since '74-75, and that's not good enough, and something we've got to strive to rectify,'' Hardwick says.

Yep finals is not guaranteed although we're not in the same scenario as any of the previous times we missed the finals post-74/75. 1981 was stuffed by a stack of injuries midseason; 1983 was a result of the fallout from Cloke, Raines and co. leaving; 1996 was caused by a change in coach and losing every close game; and 2002 was the result of poor recruiting and 2001 being the last hurrah for the aging class of '95.

Having said that, we're obviously going to have to earn finals again (no complacency) as well as have our share of luck with no long-term injuries to key players [touchwood]. The first 7 rounds is the key as we have a tough draw at the start of the season before it opens up. We can't afford a poor start and then have to play catch-up for the rest of the year. We need to follow Hawthorn's lead when they had to play all the top sides from 2012 in the first 7 rounds last year; they came out every game and stamped their authority, ending up 6-1 with the only defeat being a narrow 3 point loss to the Cats. 

Hardwick recalled a recent encounter with Richmond great Dick Clay, a four-time premiership player from their golden era.

"His exact words or along the lines were, 'I'm sick of holding the baton', which means he's ready to pass it on," the coach said.

If we can keep improving year on year then hopefully we aren't too far away from passing that baton .