Boom teams dare to dream Jon Ralph
From: Herald Sun
May 19, 2011IT is a beautiful Sliding Doors moment that has a dozen alternate scenarios, rather than just two.
On Saturday, for the first time, Damien Hardwick will take on his former Essendon teammate and new coach, James Hird.
Both are in charge of resurgent teams daring to believe for the first time in several seasons.
Yet it all could have been so very different if not for a bungled computer presentation in front of the Essendon selection committee in late 2007, Hardwick might have been the Essendon coach.
It was that close between him and former Richmond midfielder Matthew Knights, whose scintillating last presentation to the Essendon board closed the deal.
But what would have happened had Hardwick received the nod from Essendon?
Could he have succeeded where Knights did not, in an almost impossible task of thriving as the first post-Sheedy coach?
Would that have meant Essendon never got the old firm back together, which would mean Hird would still be sitting in On The Couch every Monday night?
And just where would Richmond be without him?
The computer malfunction that cost Hardwick is no throw-away line - that version of events was confirmed by former Essendon CEO Peter Jackson in a 2009 book.
Hardwick wasn't allowed permission to access the computer he used as a Hawthorn assistant coach because it contained valuable intellectual property.
"I got the impression he was burning the candle at both ends trying to get it going.
"Then on the day, he wasn't familiar with the computer, and it didn't start up properly, and Damien can get a bit annoyed with himself," Jackson said.
"His final performance was probably not as good as his second one, whereas Matthew's was terrific, and on the day, that's what the full board saw."
The what-ifs keep on coming.
Could Richmond's charge up the ladder have happened without Hardwick, whose unique blend of ruthlessness and togetherness has united the past generation's most fractured, under-achieving club?
Or would fellow Tigers coaching contender Ken Hinkley be the AFL's new coach on the rise, instead of working behind the scenes at the Gold Coast?
And could Knights have thrived somewhere else as a senior coach, without the crushing expectation that coaching after Sheedy presented?
One final thought - would Bomber Thompson still be the senior coach at Geelong without the lure of Hird to mentor?
Did the seed planted by Hird's potential return to Essendon solidify the doubts he had about honouring the final year of his contract?
None of the questions is answerable, but all present the perfect drip-tray discussion ahead of Saturday's contest.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/boom-teams-dare-to-dream/story-e6frf9jf-1226058570970
