Hardwick quits

[Lsta062]

He said he was burnt out and needed a break from coaching.

If he's gonna take 3 months off and he's no longer burnt out he can honour his contract with us.

Isn't the contract void the moment he resigned effective immediately though? Even if he wanted to, I don’t think it’ll happen tbh. They’d probably draft a new contract if that were to happen, and I don’t see us willing to do that.

 

[Truetiger]

He said he was burnt out and needed a break from coaching.

If he's gonna take 3 months off and he's no longer burnt out he can honour his contract with us.

We need change, so wouldn’t want him back. Him leaving was the best thing to happen so far this year.

 

[TigerImposter]

Kids … Dimma was sacked!! We all know it. Good luck at the GC Basket Case!! Who cares? Get over him

Of course he was. He did the dirty one time too many.

 

[Wooden Robot]

Of course he was. He did the dirty one time too many.

I’m glad some people can’t see it!
He should’ve stopped his interviews while he was coaching!
And then bye

 

[TigerImposter]

I’m glad some people can’t see it!
He should’ve stopped his interviews while he was coaching us!

 

[tropicaltiger]

Walked / tapped on the shoulder....same same

maybe the once great sausage cooker Dimma, tapped burnt-out Dimma on the shoulder, once he conceded that he could only give the club 95% and wasn't getting the best outta his boys anymore.

 

[Livonski]

Kids … Dimma was sacked!! We all know it. Good luck at the GC Basket Case!! Who cares? Get over him

You see I don’t mind if you say he’s a shit coach etc.
But the haters seem to make up stories just to paper over their own errors of judgement.
You’ve always hated him, bagged him all the way until premiership cups choked in your throat and drowned out your protests.
Same with TI and RJK, you just start yapping again when on field performance starts to wane, which was inevitable after shut a long period of consistent success.
Get over it. He was the architect of a dynasty that was unimaginable until after it happened.

 

[Livonski]

Of course he was. He did the dirty one time too many.

What dirty was that TI?

 

[domin8]

You see I don’t mind if you say he’s a s**t coach etc.
But the haters seem to make up stories just to paper over their own errors of judgement.
You’ve always hated him, bagged him all the way until premiership cups choked in your throat and drowned out your protests.
Same with TI and RJK, you just start yapping again when on field performance starts to wane, which was inevitable after shut a long period of consistent success.
Get over it. He was the architect of a dynasty that was unimaginable until after it happened.

Nail head

 

[RJK Tiger]

Hardwick walked after round 10 when it was clear that what he was trying wasn't working in getting the club back to being a genuine premiership contender.

He along with the club made the decision to go after Taranto & Hopper and that decision was the right one for the long term future of the club.

He hasn't tainted anything as far as his legacy with Richmond is concerned. He came to the club at our lowest, rebuilt the list and the culture, and delivered 3 premierships. He could have walked end of 2021, but kept trying to get the club back to the top. Had he stayed and ran the club into the ground and completely screwed our future like other coaches have done when their eras ended it may be a different story.

He talked about deciding to a "few weeks earlier" - he gave up a bit quick for mine especially considering the $10m / 14 year investment he pushed for only 6 months earlier, kinda looked like once it was apparent the trades were not the "magic bean" he & everyone had hoped to give him his "last dance" fairytale, he decided to take the GC offer.

It's been evident to me, almost immediately, since the Eagles game 2021, that something had broken. The performances the months that followed reinforced it so much. They broke in such a specific way you could tell it was terminal. As the club has worked through itself since that moment, we have gotten stronger, but that same trait has lingered. We lost our "clutch", which was the defining factor which made us a dynasty. We were ****ing Clutch.

Since that 2021 moment, we have been more cuck than clutch. We have lost nearly every important close game - every game feels ****ing hectic. The Chaos Kings had lost control. Our Dynasty era, when fully told, will be an all-timer i think.

Here at BF we bitch and moan. A lot. We barely like 50% of our own supporters most of the time. But, i never question everyones passion for this or their own club. It's a bloody weird thing to do - write words on the internet - about a subject for 100's of hours, especially if you don't truely care. But there are always 2 camps. Those who fight for what they want to happen VS those who fight for what they think NEEDS to happen. A rebuild has been required since 2021 & instead we continued to push for "1 more". I know the fans wanted "1 more", but we always NEEDED to start rebuilding ASAP, as our 2017-19 drafts were becoming apparent to be (somewhat) a bust, we had lost & traded too much depth for peanuts & we had a massive age and talent hole forming in our list.

I reckon Dimma quitting mid contract to take on an agreed deal with an opponent should, probably, tarnish your reputation with that club. He has an insane amount of runs on the board for it to not be a terminal thing - he will always be welcome for reunion stuff - but while he is working foran opponent - the bro-mance shit ends. He is a bigger threat to our club than any other coach in the league due to his strong relationships with our staff and players.

 

[RJK Tiger]

Nail head

Nailed what? lol

He said " I always hated him".

Did i really? He coached us for over a decade. He took over from Terry, who i will 100% own - i ****ing hated! I was stoked with getting Dimma - was very happy with our progress. Then we won a ****ton of flags. Pretty sure i liked him then too. Thats a solid Decade of me, definitely, liking him.

Then Covid happened. A lot of shit changed we all have spoken about before. Everything felt different. Everything looked different. And i felt different.

That is not "Always hating someone".

I don't even know why you guys are so interested or even care if i like him or ****ing not. It's not important. It's always more interesting to spend time trying to figure out what we need and how we should do it.

 

[Groupie_]

if dimma leaves his new missus down here he'll come back with a new one again

 

[DickieKnee]

if dimma leaves his new missus down here he'll come back with a new one again

Campaigners probably got a different one in every state.

 

[domin8]

Nailed what? lol

He said " I always hated him".

Did i really? He coached us for over a decade. He took over from Terry, who i will 100% own - i ******* hated! I was stoked with getting Dimma - was very happy with our progress. Then we won a *ton of flags. Pretty sure i liked him then too. Thats a solid Decade of me, definitely, liking him.

Then Covid happened. A lot of s**t changed we all have spoken about before. Everything felt different. Everything looked different. And i felt different.

That is not "Always hating someone".

I don't even know why you guys are so interested or even care if i like him or ******* not. It's not important. It's always more interesting to spend time trying to figure out what we need and how we should do it.

The timing of your re-surfacing onto bigfooty is always impeccable

 

[Groupie_]

Campaigners probably got a different one in every state.

 

[Bojangles17]

It is the worst marketing and club i have seen created in the entire world over the past 40 years

Seriously a team called themselves the Pelicans and its cool as s*t compared to the orange corporate logo "Suns". Its ****** awful.

Why they didn;t go with the Sharks and tie it with Southport was beyond me. Or even named them "The Pirates" - Something you can market to Gold Coast locals & kids. The logo looks like its for "Sports Tonight" or something.

Jumper is first thing that needs an overhaul, then the song . That jumper makes the haw strip look good

 

[Profop]

It’s so weird to me that people think it’s the head coach that makes all the draft and trade decisions. I mean he had input but not all that much

What do those posters think Blair Hartley does? I mean what are we burning that soft cap money on if the head coach is totally running the show?

 

[SunshineBoy]

Now maybe people believe me when I say he was pushed

The word was HE met with pooort and the suns at the Gather round, and he was tapped on the shoulder

 

[SunshineBoy]

Campaigners probably got a different one in every state.

And the problem with that is?

 

[RFCGloryJC]

Will Mrs Hardwick approve a move to Gold Coast?

 

[_RT_]

He talked about deciding to a "few weeks earlier" - he gave up a bit quick for mine especially considering the $10m / 14 year investment he pushed for only 6 months earlier, kinda looked like once it was apparent the trades were not the "magic bean" he & everyone had hoped to give him his "last dance" fairytale, he decided to take the GC offer.

It's been evident to me, almost immediately, since the Eagles game 2021, that something had broken. The performances the months that followed reinforced it so much. They broke in such a specific way you could tell it was terminal. As the club has worked through itself since that moment, we have gotten stronger, but that same trait has lingered. We lost our "clutch", which was the defining factor which made us a dynasty. We were ******* Clutch.

Since that 2021 moment, we have been more cuck than clutch. We have lost nearly every important close game - every game feels ******* hectic. The Chaos Kings had lost control. Our Dynasty era, when fully told, will be an all-timer i think.

Here at BF we bitch and moan. A lot. We barely like 50% of our own supporters most of the time. But, i never question everyones passion for this or their own club. It's a bloody weird thing to do - write words on the internet - about a subject for 100's of hours, especially if you don't truely care. But there are always 2 camps. Those who fight for what they want to happen VS those who fight for what they think NEEDS to happen. A rebuild has been required since 2021 & instead we continued to push for "1 more". I know the fans wanted "1 more", but we always NEEDED to start rebuilding ASAP, as our 2017-19 drafts were becoming apparent to be (somewhat) a bust, we had lost & traded too much depth for peanuts & we had a massive age and talent hole forming in our list.

I reckon Dimma quitting mid contract to take on an agreed deal with an opponent should, probably, tarnish your reputation with that club. He has an insane amount of runs on the board for it to not be a terminal thing - he will always be welcome for reunion stuff - but while he is working foran opponent - the bro-mance s**t ends. He is a bigger threat to our club than any other coach in the league due to his strong relationships with our staff and players.

This is where there is a big difference between myself and some of the posters who seem to be taking this Hardwick stuff to heart. For me Hardwick was an employee of the club I support. What he achieved at the club I'm forever grateful for and nothing he does now will change that, even if he goes and coaches Gold Coast West Coast or Port Adelaide. The moment he walked out/got sacked any care I had for what he did in his career ended.

His time at Richmond is done so I'm not quite sure why people are getting annoyed/upset about him looking at the next chapter in his career. Hardwick is a football person who has been in the AFL for 30 years, firstly it's no wonder he needed a break and secondly, now that he has had it, I'm not shocked to see the itch has resurfaced and it's got him looking for his next challenge. As far as I'm concerned the only thing that matters right now is that the club gets the decision on the next coach right and continues to follow the process that it's had in place since mid 2021 when we started to rebuild on the fly, firstly by hitting the 2021 draft hard and then in 2022 by making targeted trades to fill the void that was created by RCD Martyn & possibly Dow not panning out as future midfielders.

Oh and just to correct you on one thing. The moves to get Taranto & Hopper, weren't Hardwicks decision. In fact before he had any say in it happening, Hartley Clarke and co would have discussed the merits of going down the path of recruiting them or taking our chances at the draft. The correct call IMO was the path we chose, not because of the lets chase 1 more flag argument, but because both those players will be integral parts of our midfield for the next 7 years, whereas any kids we might have taken in their place were unlikely to be key members of the side until 2025 at the earliest. Think of it as a more aggressive recruiting approach than the tactic we used back in 2016 when we went and got Prestia Nankervis and Caddy.

 

[dean33]

The fact he is going to the Suns makes it really weird the way he has continued to smile and wink, and comment about us non stop on his socials. Some see it as endearing, i kinda saw it as fake and clickbait s**t. Just keeping himself relevant and keeping things "light" - which obviously favours his narrative a fair bit considering they are about to sack a coach in favour of him etc.

I get it - Dimma is the king of "breaking clean" apparently - but if he is going to the Suns, then time to stop all this posturing bullshit and time for us both to get on with it. Dimma broke contract to take on another job. If he is gonna work for the Suns or even plans to iinterview for it - the Richmond romance s**t is OVER. Our players and staff cut ties. We do not need our intel or staff being poached by him and that is a very real risk now.

Personally, i don't care he quit. I thought his contract was a massive problem & i thought his magic richmond dust had expired & he had lost the younger group. I thought we needed a new voice & his had lost some merit. I felt like the group didn;t believe him anymore and the young group kinda saw through his "cool dad" s**t. Him breaking contract from my perspective was a win/win, without knowing all the details of course. I think the results ince and the improvement especially in the kids also does suggest they respond better to Mini than Dimma.

It does however piss me off that he encouraged the club to trade 2 years of picks for 2 players that he effectively thought would keep our window open - yet he quit on in 6 weeks. I see a real problem between his support of trading our future VS how quickly he walked away to take on another job - that is really poor for me.

The personal stuff is only a part of it, because it is a part of it unfortunately. Lots of coaches have been divorced during a tenure. But as this one played out in a work hub, with staff involved & players and their families commenting publicly and quite clearly hurt - due to the tight family culture Dimma created at the club - it unfortunately did become a "Club issue".

Traded our future away? First of all Dimma would get a say however you have Blair directing this and our future direction and list strategy.
2nd if all you are talking about pick12 and 19 that could end up with 50 games between them for a guy who is going to canter in our best n fairest. I can’t think of a better 1st year than taranto has had for anyone we’ve recruited from another club.
Yes hopper cost us first pick this year which is probably going to be higher than we would have liked but we still have a draft hand this year, don’t fall in Cornes click bait bs.
Lastly just on Dimma “inserting himself” in the tigers season since he left… he’s made 2 twitter posts and went to his former captains 300th game. You think he doesn’t still love the club and care for the blokes he spent over a decade with?
Good luck to him if he does go to the suns, hope he does well, love the bloke and what he did for our club.

 

[RJK Tiger]

His time at Richmond is done so I'm not quite sure why people are getting annoyed/upset about him looking at the next chapter in his career. Hardwick is a football person who has been in the AFL for 30 years, firstly it's no wonder he needed a break and secondly, now that he has had it, I'm not shocked to see the itch has resurfaced and it's got him looking for his next challenge. As far as I'm concerned the only thing that matters right now is that the club gets the decision on the next coach right and continues to follow the process that it's had in place since mid 2021 when we started to rebuild on the fly, firstly by hitting the 2021 draft hard and then in 2022 by making targeted trades to fill the void that was created by RCD Martyn & possibly Dow not panning out as future midfielders.

Because the job was NOT done. He quit mid-season & mid-contract. And we just made some very brazen deals to support a "win now" mentality.

He quit. Gave us some valid reasons of needing a break. Then 3 weeks later, was planting the seed for a comeback & a few weeks after that - this happens.

It reeks of a handshake "wink-wink" arrangement was made between himself and the Suns, while he was still coaching OUR club, & under contract for the medium term. We, affectively, owned him as an asset - under contract. And we had made moves in our recent preseason under the impressions that would continue to be the case - at least until the end of the contract.

If we sacked him before the end of that contract, it would be scandalous - yet you all think him quitting to take another job for the Gold Coast ****ING Suns - literally the AFLS anus - the same AFL that just murdered our club for 2 years.... means nothing because he "earned the right" to do so?

No ****ing one is bigger than the Club. He will always be a Hall of Famer for what he achieved - but there is no reason we have to smile so hard while he is screwing us in the ass

I mean, it has worked out pretty amazing for him & the AFL seem keen AF to go with the narrative "he is coming".... For all his richmond Heroics in the past, in 2023 - Dimma kinda ****ed us. Its hard to ignore unless you are a total sub cuck

 

[RJK Tiger]

Nah. The AFL will probably pay a portion of Hardwicks mammoth salary if he agrees to go to GC. The AFL need success at Gold Coast more than anything and Damien Hardwick is the man most likely to do that

lol. The AFL love nothing more than training a Shark to be its new pet - for them nothing is personal, they will always do whats in their best interest.

 

[RJK Tiger]

Walked / tapped on the shoulder....same same

If he was tapped, then that would change a lot.

Is there any reason to believe that was the case? The club looked pretty unhappy and under-prepared for the change i thought?