Jeez Hardwick is one of those hard behind back pocket plumbers that have done well in coaching over the last 40 years - Hafey, Sheeds, Malthouse & Jeans to name the RFC attached. There's a few premierships in that lot.
More recently Mark Thompson & John Worsfold were both premiership defenders and captains. Obviously you don't have many defenders captains any more so they're becoming a rare breed. Obviously Hardwick wasn't captain, but he's still a premiership defender at two clubs and now a premiership assistant coach at a 3rd.
There's a train of thought that defenders were rarely the most talented in the team, so they relied on hard work to become successful players. This translates far better when trying to develop a team as a coach, instead of someone who had it all come to them naturally. You can't teach natural talent.
