Damien Hardwick | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Damien Hardwick

If we didn't know already what a legend Dimma is, it is being confirmed now seeing the team playing with more freedom and looking happier.

He knew his message was getting stale and his time was up, yet left a couple of million on the table in order to let the players and club move forward.

Very selfless and rare in the industry. A couple of good comparisons are Simpson trying to hang on and before that Buckley getting pushed out. Both good coaches.

But not in Dimma's league.
Adam Simpson says hello.

Ageing nicely!
 
I will say this now - absolutely NO chance of getting back in with Richmond. Not for 7-8 years at least.

For a number of reasons, not least of which is the players aren't robots.

Yes, they love Dimma, but our journey with him is done.

Just in case there are posters who think it could happen.
 
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I will say this now - absolutely NO chance of getting back in with Richmond. Not for 7-8 years at least.

For a number of reasons, not least of which is the players aren't robots.

Yes, they love Dimma, but our journey with him is done.

Just in case there are posters who think it could happen.
Yes a very revealing part of the interview is his connection with the Premiership playing group & how he was finding it very tough emotionally seeing them depart after sharing such a long journey with them. He's after a fresh start & after so many years nobody can begrudge him that.
 
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Anyone have the link to interview ?.




Episodes usually go up on YouTube as well over the next day or so.
 
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The podcast was pretty good but Dyl has a habit of talking about himself too much.
Love his podcast but strongly agree. The mark of any good interviewer is allow room for the interviewee's answers to breath, not to interrupt or derail them with your own asides.
 
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Was at the Village Green last night for the Hardwick and Cotchin show. Damien spoke glowingly about his time at the club and reiterated that the relationship had run its course. Even he doesn't know what he wants to do next (or if he did, he wasn't saying), but it certainly won't be returning to Richmond next year or in the short term. Lots of jokes about not coaching Carlton.

As those of us who've been through broken relationships well know and regardless of how amicable the split may have been, you can never go back!! If you do, it would be a mistake. Just take the memories (if you want any) and move on.
 
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As those of us who've been through broken relationships well know and regardless of how amicable the split may have been, you can never go back!! If you do, it would be a mistake. Just take the memories (if you want any) and move on.

Exactly. No relationship (of any kind) ever finishes before its use by date - however, many, many relationships linger way beyond the expiry.
I suspect in years to come this amicable split between the club and Dimma will be spoken about as the blueprint for the ideal blend of needs and wanting what's best for both clubs and coaches.
 
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will coach again as we all suspected.
Hardwick is the luckiest coach in football, and I suspect he knows it more than the supporters. A great administration from the president down that stuck by him when the on-field results did not. Given space and resources to reboot himself and completely reinvent his approach to coaching. And most importantly, he watched and coached the growth and evolution of a healthy number of champions in the squad, with a 2nd tier of players that were exceptional.

Enter 3 premierships, and the never-ending accolades of a grateful supporter base and it takes a remarkable person not to get sucked in to the hype. Hardwick is not remarkable. He left almost mid-season putting the side first? You can believe it if you like but he’s been around the AFL long enough to pick up some handy survival skills.

Of course, he’s going to coach again. He likes it and the money he will receive will be substantial. But I’m focused on the side today and some pieces are falling into place nicely. Pieces that Hardwick refused to consider. His time is finished at Richmond.
 
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Adam Simpson says hello.

Ageing nicely!
Adam Simpson would walk into another job, the problems at West Coast would appear to be the unusual spate of injuries. The strength & conditioning staff need to be looked at very closely, I once speculated it could be the harder grounds, that may be one contributor but there would appear to be more at play here.
 
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Hardwick is the luckiest coach in football, and I suspect he knows it more than the supporters. A great administration from the president down that stuck by him when the on-field results did not. Given space and resources to reboot himself and completely reinvent his approach to coaching. And most importantly, he watched and coached the growth and evolution of a healthy number of champions in the squad, with a 2nd tier of players that were exceptional.

Enter 3 premierships, and the never-ending accolades of a grateful supporter base and it takes a remarkable person not to get sucked in to the hype. Hardwick is not remarkable. He left almost mid-season putting the side first? You can believe it if you like but he’s been around the AFL long enough to pick up some handy survival skills.

Of course, he’s going to coach again. He likes it and the money he will receive will be substantial. But I’m focused on the side today and some pieces are falling into place nicely. Pieces that Hardwick refused to consider. His time is finished at Richmond.
Dimma & Sheedy were the two master tacticians of the modern era, they revolutionised the game as we know it. Dimma's gameplan was akin to giving the opposition a 4 goal handicap, it was so effective that an injured player could be replaced without the slightest impact on the overall delivery system. The fact he had to change his approach in 2014 tells me he's adaptable and introspective, only the best coaches have these qualities. It's why Ross Lyon will never be considered one of the greats, his style hasn't changed one iota and he's still searching for that elusive cup.
 
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fits perfectly, he knew he was cooked at Richmond - like he said, the day he stops helping players improve he's out, but he can still coach, he needs a new challenge and he'll coach again.

I reckon he'll go interstate, the Suns or WCE, probably the Suns. He'd never come back to Richmond as a coach, maybe in 15 years in a Neil Balme type role but even that's unlikely.
 
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I think its crazy just to assume that Hardwick can walk into any team and get them into a premiership. Unless they have a stable board and admin he will be up against it as all other coaches in that situation are.

Thats why a team like Carlton are stuck behind the 8 ball with their admin having not changed for years and the same thing happening over and over again
 
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