Is Damien Hardwick the right man to coach Richmond after 2023? (FoxFooty)

[one-eyed]

Is Damien Hardwick the right man to coach Richmond after 2023?

WATCH: https://twitter.com/FOXFOOTY/status/1652958216182194177

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‘Have the conversation’: Question over Dimma’s Tigers future amid sorry comparison to Clarko’s exit

Catherine Healey
Fox Sports
May 1st, 2023 7:26 pm

Richmond are one of only three teams sitting down the bottom of the table on one win – alongside Hawthorn and the West Coast Eagles in worrying signs for the club.

And now questions are being asked whether coach Damien Hardwick is the man to take the club forward.

The On The Couch panel put together an alarming comparison to former Hawthorn mentor Alastair Clarkson before his exit from the club at the end of 2021.

Both Clarkson and Hardwick have similarities leading successful three-time premiership eras.

Statistics show three years after their last flag, Hawthorn had an average player age of 26.15 and 112.9 games experience.

And Richmond are currently sitting with an average age of 26.61 and 115.5 games.

“The Tigers are in a really interesting situation,” Fox Footy’s Garry Lyon said.

“This footy club sitting at one win, five losses and a draw. Let me say this off the top – if Damien Hardwick wants to coach Richmond next year, he coaches Richmond next year.

“I think he’s absolutely sensational – no one is saying he’s getting sacked and I’m not trying to chase him out.

“Should he be looking at the experiences of his old mate Alastair Clarkson at the Hawthorn Football Club and the similarities between the two clubs at this particular state in time after having enormously successful periods?

“It’s quite stunning.

“We can pluck out (Hawks late recruits) O’Meara, Mitchell and Wingard … and the Tigers (additions) Hopper, Taranto, Robbie Tarrant.

“(Jack) Riewoldt goes probably end of this year, (Trent) Cotchin goes at the end of the year. Robbie Tarrant may or may not go.

“No one is sacking Damien Hardwick, no one was sacking Alastair Clarkson after this period either.

“Is it right for him to go ‘OK, can I go back to the well? Can I look at this side without those stars and rebuild?’

“They’ve got no first round draft pick this year, so does Damien Hardwick sit back now and go, ‘yep this is what I need, I need this to go again?’.”

After Hardwick’s 14 years in the job, Lyon said he believed AFL clubs were “wedded” to coaches for too long.

“We saw it with Leon Cameron as the classic case, your good self Bucks (to panellist Nathan Buckley),” Lyon said.

“No one’s given more to Richmond than Damien Hardwick. He’s got the right to call time whenever he wants.

“The coaching landscape is fluid.”

Buckley said listening to Hardwick speak after his side’s 24-point loss to the Gold Coast on Sunday showed he was “still invested” in the club.

“I think when you get to this stage of the evolution for a team, you’ve got assume there’s potentially a little dip now before Richmond come back – this is about where clubs make changes in coaching leadership and tenure,” he explained.

“They’ve got to have the conversation.

“Have you got the energy to go through this dip and come out the other side?

“Do we believe you’re the right guy to do that? Those conversations will happen behind closed doors.

“Richmond entered this year knowing the bottom half of their list was green, green as.

“(They were) trying to see where they could take Grimes, Cotchin, Riewoldt and whether they could have one last crack at it and now there’s a price to pay for that – maybe we’re seeing it now.

“They don’t have the skeleton for the young blokes to be performing off. The bookends in part – (Samson) Ryan down one end and (Tylar) Young at the other.”

Damien Hardwick remains contracted at Richmond until the end of 2024.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/have-the-conversation-question-over-dimmas-tigers-future-amid-sorry-comparison-to-clarkos-exit/news-story/87c508e3b4708d794d67e6cbdc883208

[one-eyed]

"I think we're coming to the end and Richmond should start looking at a new coaching plan, definitely by the end of next year"

Caroline Wilson on Damien Hardwick, as the panel debates whether it's time for change at Tigerland.

#9FootyClassified

https://twitter.com/FootyonNine/status/1653023611178065921

[Andyy]

Honestly not sure he is when I hear his pressers

[pmac21]

I wouldn't be against change but there's not many options out there and I would definitely have him see out his contract.   

[Broadsword]

Only Damien really knows this and I trust he will make the right decision for the football club.

Tim Livingstone and B Gale need to act decisively similarly to 2016 at the end of this year. Who knows, maybe it's time for another plan to give some direction?

I would like to see a Tigers coach hit 20 years and get to at least 4 prems, just because that's what really great clubs seem able to do.

 

[WilliamPowell]

We deserve all the media scrutiny we are getting this week

But some of these articles, commentary are a just tad over the top.

He is contracted for 2024, he loves a challenge and we have a massive one right now

But IMHO I have no doubt Dimma will do what is best for the Club.

[rogerd3]

"I think we're coming to the end and Richmond should start looking at a new coaching plan, definitely by the end of next year"

Caroline Wilson on Damien Hardwick, as the panel debates whether it's time for change at Tigerland.

#9FootyClassified

https://twitter.com/FootyonNine/status/1653023611178065921

Caro thinking she’s cosplaying Ex Mrs Hardwick.

[Tigeritis™©®]

Issue 1. He wasn’t faithful to his wife and for whatever reasons he found a younger woman was better suited for him and his needs.

Issue 2. His integrity is now compromised and whether consciously or subconsciously his words have lost a level of credibility.

Issue 3. His own personal experience emphasises a lowering of expectations for all associated under his management.

Issue 4. His wife (and daughters) are still great friends or even a mentor to some of the senior players wives.

Issue 5. Our best captain in 40 years doesn’t want the job anymore.

[Andyy]

Issue 1. He wasn’t faithful to his wife and for whatever reasons he found a younger woman was better suited for him and his needs.

Issue 2. His integrity is now compromised and whether consciously or subconsciously his words have lost a level of credibility.

Issue 3. His own personal experience emphasises a lowering of expectations for all associated under his management.

Issue 4. His wife (and daughters) are still great friends or even a mentor to some of the senior players wives.

Issue 5. Our best captain in 40 years doesn’t want the job anymore.

Sometimes I wonder if we see into this too much but honestly I can't shake the feeling that there's some truth to your points.

I know footy teams are quite a boys club in a sense but part of the strong culture we built was around family values and loyalty, being a 'Richmond man' and whatnot.

Makes you wonder if he lost the players doing what he did, whether they admit or are even conscious of it or not.

[lamington]

The captain problem is not to understated. I honestly don’t see anyone who could stand out  as a long term captain for our playing group for the next era.

[Francois Jackson]

The captain problem is not to understated. I honestly don’t see anyone who could stand out  as a long term captain for our playing group for the next era.

nailed it. The list is in really bad shape.

Could see this coming for 2 years.

I suspect hunger is the main issue with this playing group, and skill with the younger guys who simply dont have what it takes.

[one-eyed]

Nathan Buckley's truth bomb for Damien Hardwick amid ugly Richmond woes

Damien Hardwick is locked in as Tigers coach until the end of 2024, but Nathan Buckley says he has to consider his position much sooner than that.

Chris Young
yahoo! sport
Tue, 2 May 2023

Former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says it is crucial that Damien Hardwick asks himself whether he is up for the challenge of coaching Richmond in years to come, with AFL commentators predicting the Tigers may be headed towards somewhat of a rebuild. Richmond are 16th on the ladder after seven rounds this season, their worst start since 2016.

After a draw and a win in the first two weeks of the season the Tigers have gone on to lose five games straight, putting their finals hopes in serious jeopardy. There have been some mitigating circumstances, chiefly a broken foot that has ruled key forward Tom Lynch out for months, however the Tigers have still fallen short of expectations thus far.

Hardwick admitted to feeling 'flat as a tack' after Sunday's loss to the Gold Coast Suns, with Richmond's short and medium term future a hot topic among AFL observers. The club has enjoyed a remarkable run of success with premierships in 2017, 2019 and 2020, but the mainstays of that era in Trent Cotchin, Jack Riewoldt and Dustin Martin could all potentially retire from the league at the end of the season.

Speaking on Fox Sports, Buckley said it was crucial that Hardwick figures out whether or not he has the energy to stay on as coach during a different phase in club history, after engineering the Tigers' strongest seasons in decades. Buckley said Richmond were now in a tricky phase faced by clubs after a period of success, which he said were typically accompanied by changes in coaching and personnel.

“I think when you get to this stage of the evolution for a team, you’ve got assume there’s potentially a little dip now before Richmond come back – this is about where clubs make changes in coaching leadership and tenure," Buckley said. “They’ve got to have the conversation.

“Have you got the energy to go through this dip and come out the other side? Do we believe you’re the right guy to do that? Those conversations will happen behind closed doors.

“Richmond entered this year knowing the bottom half of their list was green, green as. (They were) trying to see where they could take Grimes, Cotchin, Riewoldt and whether they could have one last crack at it and now there’s a price to pay for that – maybe we’re seeing it now."

Hardwick's comments after the loss to the Suns reflected the fact that he is 'still invested' in Richmond's success, Buckley said. Hardwick is contracted to the Tigers until the end of the 2024 season.

https://au.sports.yahoo.com/afl-nathan-buckley-truth-bomb-damien-hardwick-ugly-richmond-woes-003505155.html

[the claw]

For me its time to go. Main reason and i may be wrong but my perception for the last 3 seasons for starters has been his inability to properly play young kids regardless of weather they are good enough.

Have also been highly critical of recruiting and list development.There has been no real succession plan imo its been lets eke out everything we can from the older favorites.

We had to get Lynch because we failed to address kpf stocks that goes all the way back to 2018 and still it seems we are reticent to address this issue.
We literally had to get Taranto and Hopper to a lesser degree, because we failed abysmally to address this key area. We barely looked at it and just assumed what few big mids we did take were sufficient.

Far too many kids development has stalled or failed as well.

 Our style that landed 3 flags barely lasted to 2020 but we stubbornly kept on with it.

Time for fresh ideas and most definately way past time we had someone who can make calls on players who have been around awhile.
I don't think Hardwick is capable of either.

As they say in the classics all good things must come to an end. You just have to know when time is nigh and we don't seem to be capable of even acknowledging it.

Imo before Hardwick goes we seriously need to look at these two most important areas

[Francois Jackson]

For me its time to go. Main reason and i may be wrong but my perception for the last 3 seasons for starters has been his inability to properly play young kids regardless of weather they are good enough.

Have also been highly critical of recruiting and list development.There has been no real succession plan imo its been lets eke out everything we can from the older favorites.

We had to get Lynch because we failed to address kpf stocks that goes all the way back to 2018 and still it seems we are reticent to address this issue.
We literally had to get Taranto and Hopper to a lesser degree, because we failed abysmally to address this key area. We barely looked at it and just assumed what few big mids we did take were sufficient.

Far too many kids development has stalled or failed as well.

 Our style that landed 3 flags barely lasted to 2020 but we stubbornly kept on with it.

Time for fresh ideas and most definately way past time we had someone who can make calls on players who have been around awhile.
I don't think Hardwick is capable of either.

As they say in the classics all good things must come to an end. You just have to know when time is nigh and we don't seem to be capable of even acknowledging it.

Imo before Hardwick goes we seriously need to look at these two most important areas

That style stacks up Claw, we just dont know or havent got the hunger or skill to execute it anymore. Players like Ross, mansell, etc are not that great.

We havent got a dusty to get us out of this list issue either so FA will be our only chance but good luck competing with a top 4 side to get an a grader moving forward.

[lamington]

i've harped on about honouring your heroes and hardwick falls under that as a 3x premiership coach. I trust he will know when the time to go is and considering our dynasty was built off not giving him the boot after the 2016 campaign I'd be incredibly surprised if he got the can before his contract is up