Jack's on AFL360 right now.
‘Pit in your stomach’: Star Tiger’s touching Dimma tribute, response to ‘under the bus’ sledgeDavid Zita
Fox Sports
May 24th, 2023 Richmond spearhead Jack Riewoldt has paid tribute to outgoing coach Damien Hardwick.
Hardwick fought back tears on Tuesday as he announced his immediate resignation from a role he had held since 2010.
That role included three premierships alongside Riewoldt, with the 34-year-old having played 289 games under Hardwick - the second-biggest partnership in VFL/AFL history.
“It’s very emotional. There’s that sadness of the person that has been tasked with the job of inspiring you, leading you, driving you to the ultimate success and guiding you through that is not going to be at that football club when we walk in the door tomorrow and start to prepare for this weekend’s game,” Riewoldt said on AFL 360.
“There’s probably a pit in your stomach where you’re like ‘Oh, that journey and that era is over’, which is really sad.
“There’s only two players at the football club that have played for Richmond and have been coached by another coach other than Damien, that’s myself and Trent (Cotchin).
“Everyone else has spent their whole journey under him as a father figure, which most senior coaches take on, because you go and pluck kids from all over Australia from different backgrounds and they sort of yearn to attach themselves to the senior coach, the person that provides them with their opportunity to achieve their goals, whether that’s getting one game, getting 100 games or winning a premiership, which we’ve been lucky to do, but there is always an element of sadness with that.”
Hardwick’s role as senior coach looked in significant jeopardy at the close of 2016 following an underwhelming the season, but the Tigers now famously opted to stay the course.
It resulted in three premierships in four years, with the Tigers’ willingness to embrace vulnerability a hallmark of their success.
“I think, 2017, we developed this intangible bond that gave us strength on the field which you couldn’t actually quantify ... there was this special bond that we developed through the 2017 pre-season that has lasted for a long time,” Riewoldt reflected.
“There’s so many guys in that era that went on to play 19’ and 20’ as well that there’s a really special bond there and he was the provider of that bond.
“The infamous education piece, the ‘Triple H’ - the hero, hardship and highlight - and we found what our secret key was to unlocking success.
“It doesn’t work for everyone and that’s the search for any sporting team I suppose, what’s the intangible that you can bring as a group that will connect you?”
The relationship Hardwick had with his players extended to individual bonds, including with Riewoldt.
“At some of my lowest points when I‘ve been performing really poorly, he’s welcomed me into his house on a Tuesday, Wednesday night and said, ‘Right let’s have three beers each and let’s just figure this out. What’s going on?’”, he said.
“That’s really special as a mentor and as a coach, you’re looking after 45 players plus the whole club, to then just single one person out to try and get a response from them.”
Riewoldt’s career will see him finish as one of the best forwards of the modern era, with 335 games and 771 goals to his name at the close of round 10.
It made Riewoldt’s words about Hardwick’s influence all the more impactful.
“He’s been the most important figure in my football career. I’m probably speaking on behalf of Trent and Dustin (Martin) and Dylan (Grimes), the four players that have been there from the start, he would certainly be the most important figure in all of our careers.
“The impact that he’s had from a technical point of view and just from a teaching point of view, but then from a caring point of view and a nurturing point of view. Life lessons as well. It’s not always been, we haven’t been mollycoddled and told we’re great.
“There’s been some hard truths and we’ve got the cane out a few times and sort of just whipped us a little bit and said ‘Hey, what’s going on here?’ so there’s certainly that aspect of it as well.
“It’s a huge impact. We wouldn’t be the players we are today without him and Richmond wouldn’t be the club it is today without him.”
One of Hardwick’s final stories included a cheeky dig at Riewoldt.
“One last story before I go. I rang the great Jack Riewoldt and I sort of said: ‘Mate are you available to catch up?’ Of course, Jack made it all about him,” Hardwick said with a laugh.
“I said: ‘No mate, this isn’t about you for once in your life.’ He’ll be deeply embarrassed about that, but it does sum up Jack, to be fair.”
Riewoldt responded on 360.
“I’ve been thrown under the bus there. The last time he’s thrown me under. Getting to the end of your career and obviously I had one rough game on the weekend and getting a bit older,” he said.
“I get a text from him, he goes ‘Hey mate, are you free to catch up today?’ and I’ve just gone ‘Oh no, I’m getting wound up here!’. I said I had something on I couldn’t get out of, I said ‘I can’t, but are you free to chat on the phone now?’ and he called me.
“I sort of said maybe I was sort of half-expecting this text a little bit and then he goes ‘It’s not about you mate, it’s about me!’ and I was like ‘Oh’ and then he said what he said and I was like ‘Oh no!’”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/teams/richmond-tigers/afl-2023-damien-hardwick-quits-richmond-coach-jack-riewoldt-interview-reaction-phone-call/news-story/9b7de34233e38754464151f4614b1956
