Coach Did Damien Hardwick fake exhaustion to graciously exit a declining Richmond?

[hoss]

Absolutely abandoned them when the going looked a bit tough.

On Pixel 7 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Sprout]

Never understood the Hardwick hypetrain. The infiuence of the likes of Caracella and Leppitsch on their successful period seems to get massively undersold. Richmond were steaming garbage for years on end before their arrival.

Hardwick jumping ship once his ticker tape parade was over is surely a surprise to no one.

 

[Jezzitizle]

He needed some time off, turned out to be less than he thought at the time, and an offer too good to refuse came along.

Good on him.

 

[Anja_Nees]

Pretty obviously saw what was coming. Being fair, he might genuinely have thought it would be a grind going back to square one and decided to look at other options. GC had some ok foundations.

Unfortunately whereas he would have had the credits in the bank to cop a few hidings for a little while, Yze is more or less straight under the pump. If they’re like this next year he’ll probably get the sack.

 

[Freomaniac]

There were a few factors to Thompson's departure.

You've mentioned that Geelong remained competitive, which I expected, though an instant premiership was looking unlikely after the end to 2010. So we looked to be on the slide, but not to the extent of being a bottom four side within a year or two, like Richmond did in 2023. Another factor was that Thompson was leaving, but not to be the senior coach at another club. Which is a bit more palatable.

But probably the main thing for me was that Thompson seemed to be taking regular thinly-veiled swipes at Gary Ablett and his status with the Cats beyond 2010 in the media, basically pressuring Ablett to come out and make his intentions clear. The two weren't on speaking terms at times. Then it comes out at the end of the season that for months, Thompson has been setting up an exit to Essendon to work alongside Hird as a mentor. It just looked like an extremely scummy, shamelessly hypocritical way of conducting himself. And it was only because of the fortune of how things panned out: Geelong remained successful and relevant and Essendon had - well the decade from 2011-20 that Essendon had - that we don't really hold it against him.

Yeah it was Hypocritical what Mark Bomber Thompson did. He was on $700-$750,000 a year when he was on his final 3 years as Cats coach. He was originally out of contract at the end of 2007, we all know what happened in that 2007 grand final. Thompson then signed a 3 year deal until the end of 2010.

What shocked me was Essendon was paying Bomber thompson $900,000 a year as an assistant coach.

The Gary Ablett jnr situation didnt help either. Ablett jnr was only getting paid $500-$600,000 a year in his final year in 2010. Money did play a small part in him going to the suns. But it was hard for him or anyone turning down a 5 year deal at $1.5 million a year.

worked out well for the cats, they still had a strong side even when Ablett Jnr left. Cats won that flag in 2011.

Similar Situation when Lance Buddy franklin left the hawks. The hawks won a flag in 2013, buddy leaves but they still won a flag in 2014-5.

 

[Freomaniac]

I heard he was fully abusing the players in 2023 because they kept losing, obviously he had the job lined up and didn’t want his rep to be tarnished.

Usually multiple premiership coaches have an ego problem when they start losing. The success goes to their heads.

I will ask you this as a richmond fan...

Did Tom Hafey leave on good terms or bad terms with richmond at the end of 1976?

Did the Board overracted on Tony Jewell being sacked at the end of 1981 despite Jewell getting richmond a flag the previous year?

 

[Cleansweep17]

I will ask you this as a richmond fan...

Did Tom Hafey leave on good terms or bad terms with richmond at the end of 1976?

Did the Board overracted on Tony Jewell being sacked at the end of 1981 despite Jewell getting richmond a flag the previous year?

I’m probably not the best to ask as I wasn’t around then, but seeing a few documentaries I believe we treated everybody like shit even KB because we kept drinking our own bath water from the success we had.

I’d assume they didn’t leave on good terms unfortunately but I don’t think it was the same situation as Hardwick who wanted to leave for his personal reasons.

 

[kreuze_missile]

Did nobody else find it odd that Hardwick was so eager to coach again so soon after putting on a performance for the media telling everyone how exhausted and tired he was? Half way into this season, it is becoming clear what's going on.

The Richmond parallels with Hawthorn 8-10 years ago are uncanny to say the least. Hawthorn won three flags in a row before bowing out of the finals in straight sets in 2016. At this point Clarko decides now is the time to move on some of the old guard (Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis) and instructs the club to trade the farm for Tom Mitchell and Jaeger O'Meara; two midfielders in their twenties. This was Clarko's Grand Plan for a revolutionary snap rebuild where they wouldn't have to bottom out like other rebuilding clubs, but instead, continue to add free agents and big name trades and stay at the top. Proceeded to bring in Wingard, Scully, Patton among others, but missed out on Shiel, Lynch and Coniglio. All of this ended badly, leaving Hawthorn with a broken list and in need of an extended bottoming-out period.

Richmond won 3 out of 4 flags from 2017-2020. Following the 2021-2022 years it was becoming apparent the list was getting old and on the way down. What followed was a similar scenario: instead of going down the standard rebuilding path of prioritizing youth recruitment, Dimma decided he wants to try the Clarko snap rebuild, instructing Richmond to trade the farm for Hopper and Taranto. Fast forward half-way through the 2023 season, it is now abundantly clear Richmond won't be contending for a long time, and knowing this, Dimma decides to call it quits, citing fatigue.

Just a few weeks later he decides he's eager to coach again, and conveniently, the Gold Coast are looking for a new coach, have one of the exciting young lists in the competition, and are desperate to pay big money to any proven Premiership-winning coach.

As of Round 10, 2024, the Gold Coast are young, fast, exciting, just thrashed Geelong, look primed for their first finals appearance ever and will likely be contenders over the next 5-10 years. As for Richmond, they are in the dumpster. Their youth is poor (possibly the worst in the competition), they are full of injuries, they are still heavily dependent on older players who aren't performing, and are virtually certain to spend the next 5-7 years hanging around the bottom like Hawthorn. By the time that list is ready to compete, Hopper and Taranto will be grandpas.

With all this in mind, Hardwick's alleged fatigue all seems just a bit too well-timed. I suspect it was a load of rubbish. He's ambitious and impatient. He doesn't want to go through the whole rebuild thing again, he wants to coach a contender. This is precisely why he recruited Hopper and Taranto to Richmond in the first place, and why Clarko brought in Mitchell, O'Meara, Wingard (and tried to bring in Lynch, Shiel and Coniglio). While Clarko spent a few years trying to make it work, Hardwick quickly realized Richmond was sinking faster than the Titanic and abandoned ship.

Yes.

 

[Freddy Swift]

I will ask you this as a richmond fan...

Did Tom Hafey leave on good terms or bad terms with richmond at the end of 1976?

Did the Board overracted on Tony Jewell being sacked at the end of 1981 despite Jewell getting richmond a flag the previous year?

I am old enough to remember both of these incidents.

There were some rumblings on the board about whether Tom Hafey should remain as coach. A vote was taken and the result was in Hafeys favour, however it wasn’t unanimous. Tom was unhappy that he didn’t have the support of Graeme Richmond (our secretary and power broker) so decided to leave. He was not sacked. Him leaving was the worst thing that ever happened to us.

The board very definitely over-reacted by sacking Tony Jewell. He had done a fine job. This was the start of our wilderness years where we discarded coaches as regularly as we changed our socks. We had a man in charge who just had too much power (Graeme Richmond). He did a lot of good for us over the years but he ruined us too.

As for Damien Hardwick, I am eternally grateful for the 3 flags, but I really feel he did the dirty on us. When things got a bit difficult, instead of rolling up his sleeves and trying to fix things, he took the easy way and baled out early. I’m sure he already knew he had the GC job lined up. Just very poor form leaving a club in the lurch not even half way through the season.

 

[tiger_tough]

Said it at the time, haven’t changed my mind. 100% shafted them. The story of him losing the plot at his players after losing to Essendon only made better by the fact Sam Durham kicked the winner.
Traded in Mrs Hardwick for a flashier model, did the same with his football clubs.

That has precisely zero relevance.

 

[tiger_tough]

They're all jumping ship.

Richmond will do what they have always done.
Go back into irrelevancy for the next 30 years before popping up again for a brief moment in time.
It's what they are as a football club.

There has literally only been one single 30+ year period in RFCs history without a flag ya moron.

 

[tiger_tough]

Remember when you were handed the wooden spoon (x2) very recently?

That's what your club is and I think you are good odds to add another wooden spoon this season ya moron

Very recently, as in 20 years ago?

Take it to the bay champion. You are utterly obsessed with Richmond.

 

[Cdog71]

Hardwick was at the club for 12 and a bit seasons, 307 games.

Thing is though 2017 the coaching group stumbled on to a game style that Clubs struggled to deal with.
Our CHF was retired due to concussion issues, Ben Griffin.
Hardwick had a liking for BFlankers, we had heaps of ‘em.
Had something 7 players under 6”
in the 2017 flag team.
We had JReiwoldt and the only other fwd who didn’t have crazy pace was Jacob Townsend

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Jacob Townsend

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9.7

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5.5

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4.3

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2.5

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0.7

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6.9

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4.6

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5.0

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2.0

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3.6

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.

Hardwick didn’t recruit Rance, Reiwoldt, Cotchin, Martin. They where already there.
He didn’t take 8 years to develop the game style that won us three flags.
It was Leppitsch, Caracella, McRae trying to make things work when we had only one marking fwd.
They only started that game style July/August when they didn’t know when/if Griffin would be fit to play.
He never played again.
We had alotve players already with very good pace and very good speed endurance.

His last two seasons we had soft cap issues because of Covid fines and he didn’t have as big a football dept.
He had to coach.
He was exhausted and knew he couldn’t get the team going, I think he knew he’d be at GC but I think even with all their kids and resources I’m not certain they will have success.
Spose we’ll see.

Either way, stiff sh.t
My club won three flags

 

[windyhill]

That has precisely zero relevance.

You don’t know football. If I could pick one bloke to kick the sealing goal against the club who had him on their books it’s S. Durham.

 

[Ed_Gein]

It's no secret the AFL want to grow the market in Queensland and it's imperative Gold Coast are successful.

In saying that, the AFL probably manufactured the move. Dew wasn't really taking them anywhere, whilst they tapped up 3x Premiership coach to see if he was keen; and he was. You know the rest...

Remember when the AFL were desperate for Franklin to get to GWS before we jumped in to seal the deal? The result for us was a trade ban despite breaking no rules. The AFL were that livid.

Don't underestimate the lengths the AFL will go to to protect and grow their brand

 

[HTPunter]

Not having the passion & energy to lead a rebuild is the same as exhausted for me.

It’s just clear now he was exhausted of Richmond, not coaching in general. New club, new direction, not the same old same old.

I reckon probably ends up best for Richmond too. Plunges them into more immediate depths, but Yze gets less pressure and there was enough issues with list management in the 1-2 years prior to him starting that he gets extra time. Time to build a list again, under Hardwick it’d be constant sack watch and pressure on him & the club.

 

[tiger_tough]

You don’t know football. If I could pick one bloke to kick the sealing goal against the club who had him on their books it’s S. Durham.

That's great but it still has nothing to do with the subject.

Sam Durham was picked before we had a chance to draft him. It has nothing to do with Hardwicm and is not relevant in the slightest. This is just an Essendon supporter trying to inject their club into a thread that is not needed.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Hardwick was in his 14th year as coach of Richmond. That enough for one coach at one club. Time to move on.

 

[FlowersByIrene]

Obviously, yes.

 

[windyhill]

That's great but it still has nothing to do with the subject.

Sam Durham was picked before we had a chance to draft him. It has nothing to do with Hardwicm and is not relevant in the slightest. This is just an Essendon supporter trying to inject their club into a thread that is not needed.

Sorry for bringing a bloke right under your eyes into the conversation. I take it back. Back on topic, losing to Essendon was the last straw for Hardwick, it’s been well reported how ****ed off he was to lose in his last game as coach to Essendon. Apparently Mrs Hardwick was right up for it.

 

[SAweagle]

Hardwick was in his 14th year as coach of Richmond. That enough for one coach at one club. Time to move on.

Yet Hinkley survives 12 seasons with one to come without ever making a grand final.

Next week he takes the record for AFL games coached without making a GF

 

[Elixuh]

He told Dylan Grimes

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Dylan Grimes

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33

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194cm

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92kg

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11.6

3star

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6.3

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5.3

4star

M

3.9

4star

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2.4

4star

MG

136.0

2star

D

12.2

3star

K

7.4

3star

HB

4.8

3star

M

4.7

4star

T

1.4

2star

MG

136.0

2star

D

9.4

3star

K

3.8

2star

HB

5.6

4star

M

3.0

3star

T

1.0

3star

he was just going to the corner store to get some milk

 

[Gavin Excell]

I’m probably not the best to ask as I wasn’t around then, but seeing a few documentaries I believe we treated everybody like s**t even KB because we kept drinking our own bath water from the success we had.

I’d assume they didn’t leave on good terms unfortunately but I don’t think it was the same situation as Hardwick who wanted to leave for his personal reasons.

KBs anger at the club at the way he was treated seemed a bit petulant.

I mean his coaching record over 4 years was dreadful

 

[Rich01]

Sorry for bringing a bloke right under your eyes into the conversation. I take it back. Back on topic, losing to Essendon was the last straw for Hardwick, it’s been well reported how ****ed off he was to lose in his last game as coach to Essendon. Apparently Mrs Hardwick was right up for it.

Well, isn’t someone just craving a bit of attention! There there windy.

 

[Lsta062]

They're all jumping ship.

Richmond will do what they have always done.
Go back into irrelevancy for the next 30 years before popping up again for a brief moment in time.
It's what they are as a football club.

You’re so obsessed with us. Geelong not giving you enough of a dopamine hit lately?