Damien Hardwick quits Richmond: All the reaction after three-time premiership coach’s shock callCraig McRae was stunned by Damien Hardwick’s decision to quit, but the former Tigers assistant coach, who served under him, has lauded Hardwick’s contribution to the game.
Lauren Wood
HeraldSun
May 23, 2023Damien Hardwick coached with “courage” in the face of one of football’s most taxing jobs, current Collingwood coach and former Richmond assistant Craig McRae said on Monday night.
Just 48 hours after Richmond’s one-point loss to Essendon in the Dreamtime at the ‘G game, Hardwick sensationally revealed his decision to quit with 18 months remaining on his contract.
Richmond staff were on Monday night called to an all-club meeting scheduled for Tuesday morning.
McRae said coaching was “a tough job” and that he had been shocked by Hardwick’s call to step down after 14 years as senior coach.
“I’m not going to lie to you. It’s relentless,” McRae said on Fox Footy.
“You get tired. You’ve got to find energy sources. You’re constantly trying to find the right balance to find the right energy to get to your playing group.
“You find the energy for your players and then you get home and you’re exhausted and your wife and family want you to find energy, too.
“This is a tough job. But I’m grateful for it. I know it’s a moment of time in my life ... but you’ve got to find the balance. And he’s done it a long time.”
McRae, who served as Hardwick’s assistant coach from 2017 to 2020, said the timing of the announcement had come to his surprise.
“Having worked with Dimma, he’s an incredible coach and he’s his own person,” he said.
“I’m sure that Richmond footy club will salute him well.”
Richmond launched a full-scale review at the end of 2016 and ultimately backed in Hardwick, who delivered a premiership just 12 months later.
“(When I joined the club) one of the great things Dimma was doing was developing a list to make finals .. his ability just to back himself in and make strong decisions and play young players at the back end of 2016, it took a lot of courage,” McRae recalled.
“He copped a lot of flak for it.
“At that time, the ability for the board and other parts of the business to back him in...2017 was a remarkable year. He changed the game in a lot of ways.
“These memories (of our premiership wins) last forever. I’m so fortunate for my time at Richmond and grateful for having worked with Dimma. He’s an incredible coach.”
A decrease in hunger of as little as “one per cent” may have sparked Hardwick’s decision to walk away from Punt Road, according to former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley.
It was reported on Monday night that burnout was a factor in the game’s longest-serving current coach’s call.
Ex-Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley, who left the Magpies in 2021, said Hardwick may have felt “not quite as hungry”.
“It’s a little bit about reading the curve and reading the trend, I suppose,” he said on Fox Footy.
“Every coach, especially if you’ve been as successful as Damien Hardwick ... needs to ask himself that question. Am I going to coach the dip?
“This game is so hard to stay up for as long as maybe it might have been 20, 30 years ago. It is cyclical.
“This might be a sign that he doesn’t feel like he has the energy to be able to put in, that he’s not quite as hungry. It might only be one or two per cent off.
“Only he would know exactly what it is. He’s the only one who knows how he feels internally.”
Buckley said “in the end, you are human”.
“You only have so much bandwidth. You nearly deny your own welfare at times to do this job.
“Only he would know what he’s presenting and whether he’s got the energy.
“It shouldn’t surprise us at all if this comes to fruition.”
https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/damien-hardwick-quits-richmond-all-the-reaction-after-threetime-premiership-coachs-shock-call/news-story/fe28d32700d5a9b3be7b291f394116bb
