Damien Hardwick

[Smoking Aces]

Meat trays?? Did we have a raffle n I missed it? Who won?

That’s the punishment. Long way off from missing a game.

 

[silvertiger]

History is showing our decline commenced with Dimma leaving Mrs Hardwick.

You are a *smile*.

 

[BT Tiger]

You are a *smile*.

Easy, he's not wrong. Might be a coincidence, might not.

Fair enough to comment on it though.

 

[shad]

We are declining because our players are getting old leading to retirements, injuries and reduced form. Due to the salery cap and the draft we are unable to replace them at the rate required to maintain the same level of success. Don't over-complicate it.

 

[mad_tiggy911]

I reckon it's gonna start getting real ugly for him soon.

 

[seven]

Dimma looking a little lost in the box. Really starting to wonder how much the lack of quality assistants are hurting him. Always seen Dimma as a motivator and creator of culture but not really any good tactically or on match days. Thats where in the premiership years he was surrounded by excellent intel which have all since departed. Time will tell but me thinks they need to go out and recruit the best support they can get for Dimma to cotinue to be successful.

PS. The Mrs Hardwick has nothing to do with it.

I thought having Teague in the box would have helped Thursday night.
Got that feeling 2022 is going to get ugly

 

[zgod]

Reckon we will bounce back with a bang.

 

[Little Ziggyadee]

I thought having Teague in the box would have helped Thursday night.
Got that feeling 2022 is going to get ugly

Teague is a doofus

 

[Little Ziggyadee]

Where declining because our drafting is still a major issue.
We couldve been rocknrolling if Clarke and Hartley hit 2 of the last 10 drafts.
Ellis x2, Lennon, Dow, Higgins and Collier Dawkins wont help the dynasty continue.

 

[Brodders17]

Reckon we will bounce back with a bang.

Hardwick is having another affair??

 

[St Kevin]

Ms Hardwick has left the club.

If we win this week I guess we will know.

As an outside observer, given the scrutiny this relationship has gotten I was surprised she had stayed around. I thought the club would have encouraged her to leave, particularly given what was rumoured to have been happening during the hub in 2020.

 

[TigerForce]

Ms Hardwick has left the club.

If we win this week I guess we will know.

Kudos to the Hun for letting us know. Made my day...

 

[Tigers of Old]

Incidentally the second highest interaction is people whinging about pay walls.

Complaints about the Herald Sun no doubt top of the list.

 

[tigermouseau]

The culture and morale we had over those flag years was lightning in a bottle, hard to manufacture and easy to lose. I've always said that Hardwick's sin was not so much having the relationship but concealing it from the club, in particular Benny Gale who had to confront him over it when the rumours were going around inside the hub. That's damaging to a culture that was about being yourself and being open about your failings and vulnerabilities.

Did it make a difference, who knows, maybe a minor one - but it's a marker of a general decline. You could see the players essentially give up over the last half of last season. You see the ill-discipline costing us goals like last night. You never saw that in previous years - they had absolute belief in the system, and rock solid discipline. Dimma's been a great coach, and maybe he's still got the players, but somethings changed and it's not just the decline because of the age of the champions like Cotch and Prestia.

I like your assessment but place a bit more importance on the Dimma affair. The team had a close bond, with Emma Murray they all peeled back their vulnerabilities to their team mates and on occasion were brought to tears. They respected each other and helped each other with their shortcomings. They played for each other and for Dimma and the club. Dimma then does the dirty on Mrs Hardwick, who had become part of the fibre of the playing group - do as I say not what I do - and bang gone. Players start to look to umpires for free kicks, start berrating team mates, stop hunting in packs, undisciplined play, taking shortcuts and arguing with umpires. I have always always admired Dusty for his fairness in play. He’d never argue a decision, he calmly asked what was that free kick for but the opposite is now creeping into his game.
I also look at who has left the club over the last four or so years, rutten, Caracalla, Leppa, fly and then there’s important irreplaceable members of the conditioning and medical team also leaving.
We have indeed been very fortunate to have witnessed a dynasty, and everything has to go right for us this year to make finals, but I firmly believe we have lost that invisible, intangible aspect that made us so great and feel we will not play a significant role for some years to come.

 

[King Kong]

I'm a broken record ... it's a 'whole of coaching' issue. Something is not right deep down since last year.
And it's not the personal Dimma stuff.

It's the coaching panel/all of them as a collective and how they are working together - or in my view, not the best team of coaches and leadership.
I've made myself a promise to let this go as its doing my head in. i'd bet my house something serious is not working.
People need to be moved on at the end of 22 and restructures will happen.
No malice, collectively our coaching panel is performing poorly since early 2021.

Leppa, McCrae and Caracella all left since our last GF appearance. Dimma doing a Putin and surrounding himself with yes men?

 

[Leysy Days]

Of that their is a tight soft cap and they all got targetted with large pay rises for another role. Except Leppa who needed a break and would now be on more than at RFC.

Assistant coaches move all the time. Look at Hawthorn under Clarkson.

 

[Rod]

Leppa, McCrae and Caracella all left since our last GF appearance.

That's true of Leppitsch and McCrae who left at the end of 2020 but Caracella left at the end of 2019.

 

[Smoking Aces]

Of that their is a tight soft cap and they all got targetted with large pay rises for another role. Except Leppa who needed a break and would now be on more than at RFC.

Assistant coaches move all the time. Look at Hawthorn under Clarkson.

The soft is cap is a joke. Cant stand it. Whats the point of being successful from a financial perspective if you cant benefit from it? AFL loves to reward mediocrity.

 

[Little Ziggyadee]

Leppa, McCrae and Caracella all left since our last GF appearance. Dimma doing a Putin and surrounding himself with yes men?

The doofus from Carlton. WTF
Are we taking the *smile*?
Be so bad at your job and get the ass but end up General manager at BHP.

 

[Carter]

Forget about the affair. Forget about assistant coaches. Forget about Hardwick himself.

Our decline since GF 2020 is about rules that promote cheating goals through team defence.

666 and stand have killed our run.

We might make finals but teams who can apply pressure AND boss the center clearances for momentum goals like Melbourne will reign supreme.