DAMIEN HARDWICK WON RICHMOND EVERYTHING, AND OWES THE CLUB NOTHINGBy Andrew Slevison
SEN
3 August 2023So, Damien Hardwick is going to coach Gold Coast, is he?
Good on him.
The reports indicate that a five-year deal could be on the cards.
There have been suggestions in the media that Richmond supporters should be annoyed by the situation after he up and left the club midway through the 2023 season.
At the time there would have been many different feelings around ‘Dimma’ and his decision.
Read below:WHY THE FIRE OF HARDWICK’S LEGACY BURNS BRIGHTER THAN THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF HIS DECISIONBut after almost four hapless decades in the wilderness, Hardwick led the Tigers back to the promised land.
Three premierships in four years and an era of success gets you a few brownie points. If it weren’t for Hardwick, Richmond may still be in the doldrums.
If he was burnt out at Punt Road, he was burnt out. That doesn’t mean he was, or is, burnt out with coaching. At some point in the next year or so, he was going to finish up at the club anyway. So why not rip the Band-Aid off now.
People leave jobs all the time. Sometimes people pull up stumps mid-year and move on to other industries. More often than not they go and work for a different employer in the same industry. So be it, that’s life. You’ve got to look out for yourself in this world, because most of the time nobody else will.
While this is different to a player leaving a club - as that never happens during the season unless it’s retirement - it’s not too far off.
Players switch clubs every year. Some probably because they were burnt out at one place and wanted a fresh start. Being burnt out doesn’t mean you want to retire.
The difference with this is, both the Tigers and the Suns had to plan for the future so both parties would have wanted to get the business done as early as possible. If Hardwick didn’t want to go around again with the Tigers, then make a change. That they did.
If the Suns didn’t see Stuart Dew as the man to take them forward, then make a change. That they did.
If the Suns believe a three-time premiership coach - who happens to be available and reportedly keen to coach again - can take them to the finals for the first time, then good on them for pursuing that man.
Richmond has won six of nine under Andrew McQualter, and while he may not necessarily win the job full-time, you could safely say that the Tigers wouldn’t have done any better under Hardwick.
The move appeared to reinvigorate the players and they have been playing with more freedom than they did in the first half of the season.
All Tigers fans can’t be spoken for in this instance, but you’d suggest the vast majority would be fairly comfortable with the situation.
Hardwick felt he couldn’t take the club forward any further, that maybe a change will be good for all involved. That happens from time to time.
The man won THREE premierships. He was burnt out after spending more than a quarter of his life at the one place. That’s understandable.
And if the wants to pursue a different lifestyle out of the Melbourne bubble and guide an underperforming club, then good luck to him.
The reported meeting with Suns chief Mark Evans in Cinque Terre is not quite Ibiza, as Dustin Martin suggested, but it is a small taste of what could be ahead on the 'Goldie'.
A more relaxed working life awaits.
Nothing can take away what he achieved at Richmond and nobody can begrudge him if he feels the need to revitalise and re-energise his life.
That’s not bizarre. That’s human nature.
Good luck on the Gold Coast if you happen to go there, Dimma. You owe Richmond nothing. You go with the blessing of every Tigers supporter we’ve quizzed on the situation.
The reality is, he will always be a Richmond person.
Just don’t go poaching any beloved Tigers…
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/08/03/damien-hardwick-won-richmond-everything-and-owes-the-club-nothing/
