Hardwick quits

[San Antonio]

I think we found our SEN caller from last night, who stated this exact thing.

Seriously, someone stated this exact thing on SEN last night? It wasn't me. I can't believe that there's someone else out there that knows what they're talking about, I thought I was the only one!

 

[robin kennedy]

I’m 47yo and I remember growing up, all I wanted was for Richmond to be competitive most weeks. Not win flags or even make finals, just don’t be a laughing stock more often than not.

Then in 2013 I couldn’t believe we’d made finals. I shed a tear at that first final in front of 95,000 fans as the team ran out … had my 6yo and 8yo boys in tow. What a great moment seeing them back on the big stage… then finals failures hit and the idea of just being happy to be ‘competitive’ was yesterdays news …. now I needed to win a final to be satisfied.

Then came 2017 first final against the Cats, who’d toyed with us for 3 decades and had a 13-game winning streak against us. I’d already worked out we lost the first final to the Cats, then get done in the second final to Sydney … straight sets, cya later Tigers.

Then we dominated the Cats early but scores were level around half-time. We’d missed our moment and the heartache was coming …. then Dusty played a second half for the ages and the heartache didn’t come ….. we’d actually won a final for the first time in 16-years! My now 10yo and 12yo boys were in tow. What a night!

Then came the PF… greatest footy night of my life. But at what stage would the dagger through the heart come? As it had for 37-years at some stage each season. A tough struggle but then we kicked clear, only to somehow have GWS close to within 20-points with plenty of time on the clock…. this was going to be it. The ultimate dagger, losing to GWS in front of 95,000 fans. How could you do it to me? But then, they settled and Jack, who’d been well beaten all game, took a mark and snapped the sealer. We were home, and Jack who was my kids hero had delivered.

At this time I was satisfied. I get to see a GF. What a journey and what an effort. But Crows had been dominant and looked too big a task. Went to the game with boys again in tow. Crows kicked the first 2 x goals and the dream was finally over. But it wasn’t a dagger, it was just a clap for the season that had been, but all good things must come to an end….

But then ….. the game started to shift. Caddy snapped a goal and Jack missed a couple, but we were suddenly in the game. But the second quarter was the Crows best all season, so they’d respond…. but in the second we kicked 4 goals to zip. I was in the forward pocket, city end. Just before half time I said to the boys …”Look, Dusty has just drifted to FF” …. Then Prestia clears and Dusty did what Dusty does to give us a half time lead..maybe, just maybe we were a chance.

Then the third quarter we couldn’t miss … Castagna even nailed one straight through the middle. If we could just kick the first of the last quarter we should be home …. but the dagger was surely going to come…. just how unbearable would it be.

Then we kicked to a 45-point lead, and the bloke next me made the terrible mistake of saying “we’re home” …. I said “why would you say that?”, despite all logic suggesting we were home.

But then the grim reaper appeared, and the Crows kicked 2-goals in minute to bring it back to 33-points. OMG … this dagger with the Cross kicking 8-straight goals was going to be the worst yet.

Then Betts took a mark about 45m out and it was about to be 27-points with 10-minutes left. But he inexplicably played on. Then dished off and I think it was Cameron got caught HTB …. was that the moment passed for the Crows?

Just one more goal to seal it Tigers… for f**CK’s sake just put me out of my misery.

Then we missed a shot to seal it to leave the slightest of chances. Then from the kick out Townsend marked. This was it. Kick this and the dagger is put to bed. Straight through the high diddle diddle it went, and me and my boys celebrated the next 10 minutes like never before.

That was enough. I could die happy. I never thought I’d see a competitive team, or a finals win, and certainly never a flag. Then me and my kids saw 3…. freakin 3 of the bloody things!!

My old man is a Saints supporter and was there in 1966 as an 18yo. He’s in in aged care home and I hope beyond hope he gets to feel what we all felt for 4 x amazing years.

Losing still hurts like hell and we seem to have found some more daggers with all these close losses ….. but 2017-2020 means the pain only lingers for days, not weeks, months or years on end.

Thanks Dimma …. a true Tigerman forever !



Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

Great post, my story is similar re my sons. I grew up in Melbourne, shifted to Perth but still loved Tigers which sons inherited and thankfully hung on to. They went on with their lives and were living in Switzerland but came back for the day of 2017 flag, great as a Tiger, great as a dad, great that we were all there together.
It will last for ever.
"Eat `em alive"

 

[Freddy Swift]

Feel better now?

I know Peggy is not President, but i am talking about the transition as a whole, they admitted in the presser that it was known this was going to be Dimma's last year coming into the season. Dont think you can ban someone permanently for something like that, so you would likely be a horrible candidate for a moderator. Some of you just need to learn to deal with other people having opinions.

This place has gotten worse in that way, but its to be expected as the whole world has got that way. No longer is respect for other peoples opinions a standard - if someone says something you dont like you just apparently be a noisy campaigner about it and hope they go away.

Don't it suck though, when they don't just " go away" as you would like & challenge you back?

So what exactly did i say that made you think i was a disgrace?

Because you only ever seem to turn up when we’ve lost or like today when the coach has resigned. And you always sound so bloody glad that something’s gone wrong so that you can gloat about it. What genuine supporter ever wants things to go wrong at their club?

You can have your opinion but don’t come in here and practically rub our noses in it when things don’t turn out right. Why are you always happy about any misfortune Richmond has?

 

[rfctigerarmy]

Yep thats what i remember too. Which explains why a interim is always picked internally now - they are already on the books & their current salary goes towards the new salary to allow for the soft cap to not be exceeded.

I think, in all sports, picking coaches these days is so hard. Its like there is an exact science to doing it, but its less than 50% known yet.

Looking at the previous new coach signings & results ( which is a basic A-F system, completely my opinion based on results & performance) is a real mixed bag. It's also hard to properly rate the new coachs of this season as all their results are quite dramatic, but obviously not sustained - I have rated based on the current perception

Hawks - Sam Mitchell / D+
Pies - Fly / A+
Bombers - One of the Scotts, can't remember / A
Saints - Ross / A
Nth - Clarkson / Ratten. / F or A.Who can honestly tell with that club
Carlton - Voss - C
Giants - Kingsley - B+


Then looking a bit longer

Crows - Matthew Nicks - B+
Freo - Justin Longmuir - B
Nth - Noble - F
Nth - Rhyce Shaw - F
Saints - Brett Ratten - C-


Its a real mix of age, experience & results. Before this season you would 100% be supporting the "first timer with a solid experience" path - but all of Ross, Scott & Clarkson* have had initial solid results & Voss, although declining quite fast, had been doing a solid job. He was probably an A this time last year, for example - its hard to get a read.

The list of known candidates is not strong based on my fairly limited understanding of them. I would have liked the interim role be offered externally to someone who is on the cusp of being a serious candidate - maybe Blake Caracella or Leon Cameron if he wanted it ( ie i would have called him and asked - any interest in earning $500k or whatever the salary is to caretake the team on a known 6 month basis - anything longer than that we both agree is up for discussion and not expected or guaranteed - that could have been good, but likely the above soft cap issue might have made that impossible anyway.
You would also offer it to those 2 as we have history with them and can keep it hush easier to not create issues etc. McQualter has never really blown me away in anything he has done so far with us

How on Earth does your ranking system work? This is basically your expectation vs how the club is performing from a ladder position, not really anything to do with how they coach at all.

You would suggest that, based on their lists, Nicks and Mitchell are actually doing a really good job. Particularly Mitchell, considering how young their list is. Whereas Voss is doing a deplorable job based on their list potential / age and how bad they're doing.

 

[chriso11]

I’m 47yo and I remember growing up, all I wanted was for Richmond to be competitive most weeks. Not win flags or even make finals, just don’t be a laughing stock more often than not.

Then in 2013 I couldn’t believe we’d made finals. I shed a tear at that first final in front of 95,000 fans as the team ran out … had my 6yo and 8yo boys in tow. What a great moment seeing them back on the big stage… then finals failures hit and the idea of just being happy to be ‘competitive’ was yesterdays news …. now I needed to win a final to be satisfied.

Then came 2017 first final against the Cats, who’d toyed with us for 3 decades and had a 13-game winning streak against us. I’d already worked out we lost the first final to the Cats, then get done in the second final to Sydney … straight sets, cya later Tigers.

Then we dominated the Cats early but scores were level around half-time. We’d missed our moment and the heartache was coming …. then Dusty played a second half for the ages and the heartache didn’t come ….. we’d actually won a final for the first time in 16-years! My now 10yo and 12yo boys were in tow. What a night!

Then came the PF… greatest footy night of my life. But at what stage would the dagger through the heart come? As it had for 37-years at some stage each season. A tough struggle but then we kicked clear, only to somehow have GWS close to within 20-points with plenty of time on the clock…. this was going to be it. The ultimate dagger, losing to GWS in front of 95,000 fans. How could you do it to me? But then, they settled and Jack, who’d been well beaten all game, took a mark and snapped the sealer. We were home, and Jack who was my kids hero had delivered.

At this time I was satisfied. I get to see a GF. What a journey and what an effort. But Crows had been dominant and looked too big a task. Went to the game with boys again in tow. Crows kicked the first 2 x goals and the dream was finally over. But it wasn’t a dagger, it was just a clap for the season that had been, but all good things must come to an end….

But then ….. the game started to shift. Caddy snapped a goal and Jack missed a couple, but we were suddenly in the game. But the second quarter was the Crows best all season, so they’d respond…. but in the second we kicked 4 goals to zip. I was in the forward pocket, city end. Just before half time I said to the boys …”Look, Dusty has just drifted to FF” …. Then Prestia clears and Dusty did what Dusty does to give us a half time lead..maybe, just maybe we were a chance.

Then the third quarter we couldn’t miss … Castagna even nailed one straight through the middle. If we could just kick the first of the last quarter we should be home …. but the dagger was surely going to come…. just how unbearable would it be.

Then we kicked to a 45-point lead, and the bloke next me made the terrible mistake of saying “we’re home” …. I said “why would you say that?”, despite all logic suggesting we were home.

But then the grim reaper appeared, and the Crows kicked 2-goals in minute to bring it back to 33-points. OMG … this dagger with the Cross kicking 8-straight goals was going to be the worst yet.

Then Betts took a mark about 45m out and it was about to be 27-points with 10-minutes left. But he inexplicably played on. Then dished off and I think it was Cameron got caught HTB …. was that the moment passed for the Crows?

Just one more goal to seal it Tigers… for f**CK’s sake just put me out of my misery.

Then we missed a shot to seal it to leave the slightest of chances. Then from the kick out Townsend marked. This was it. Kick this and the dagger is put to bed. Straight through the high diddle diddle it went, and me and my boys celebrated the next 10 minutes like never before.

That was enough. I could die happy. I never thought I’d see a competitive team, or a finals win, and certainly never a flag. Then me and my kids saw 3…. freakin 3 of the bloody things!!

My old man is a Saints supporter and was there in 1966 as an 18yo. He’s in in aged care home and I hope beyond hope he gets to feel what we all felt for 4 x amazing years.

Losing still hurts like hell and we seem to have found some more daggers with all these close losses ….. but 2017-2020 means the pain only lingers for days, not weeks, months or years on end.

Thanks Dimma …. a true Tigerman forever !



Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

Welcomed my first child 2 days after our first premiership win in 2017. Those 3 days will never be topped in my life. Richmond premiership and beautiful baby boy. The peak of my life.

 

[banana_bus]

Dimma's delight: Hardwick’s 10 greatest Tiger moments

Sarah Black takes a look some of the most memorable games in Damien Hardwick's time as Richmond coach

www.afl.com.au

Not much work getting done today

 

[SouthernStripes]

Welcomed my first child 2 days after our first premiership win in 2017. Those 3 days will never be topped in my life. Richmond premiership and beautiful baby boy. The peak of my life.

That’s an epic couple of days mate. My second daughter was born in 2017 and shared the same birthday as the RFC (20th Feb) was my good omen for that year and worked out well

 

[RJK Tiger]

In saying all this, i do hope he has a good break from it all, it has been a very intense ride for us all, but for him it has been immense. He came into the Richmond coaching gig as a bight-eyed novice coach with a young family & leaves a 3 time premiership coach with a new GF. It's a very hard gig being an AFL coach, especially a very good one. He started his speech stating that the league had gotten very even & very challenging, but that essentially has gotten a bit much for him. He came in a fairly zen guy, built a successful gameplan fueled on chaos, then saw a different form of chaos infect his personal & work life. Just as chaos is our gameplan overwhelmed our opponents, it tends to do the same thing on your mental health, as once it gets rolling - it becomes a beast of its own. If any guy needs a break, its Damien Hardwick. I suspect he will coach again next year, but if he is smart i think he should take longer off and explore himself a bit more, a bit like Clarko did. Clarko came back a good coach, his past is what has messed his plans up.

The Richmond dynasty story is now complete & its the doozy they always promised us. Like the so often story of a great rock n roll band - there was in-fitting, police, lewd behaviour, players getting sick, getting arrested, **** and medals, chopsticks, kebabs & strippers, wives, potential affairs, religious cults & more money than you can poke a stick at. People got made for life, but it also came at a lot of personal cost to themselves and the people around them. As this is the end,I hope all the people who actually had to live through that story can take a mental break from it. It was quite a ride

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

The presser reminded me of it so much.
Rushed, under-prepared. anti-climatic, - "getting it out of the way".,
Richmond - we can win flags, but jesus christ we are bad at goodbyes

Yes the pressa seemed a tad flattish imo...apart from Dimma, who looked upbeat, happy, joking...B.G seemed out of it...even Dimma at one stage had to slap B.G. on the shoulder and asked him to say a few words...really caught B.G off guard for a sec...and to his credit, the consummate professional that he is, B.G strung some words together. Not the speech one would expect from a Prez in praise of a 3 time Premiership Coach, but adequate!
So having got that out of the way...what in your opinion did Dimma have to say, to make good goodbyes?!?

 

[kozi]

Doesn’t matter who we get next if we don’t get good assistants

 

[TigerImposter]

After reading the last 7 pages I can now see why the server crashed. FFS embarrassing

 

[TiggerMan22]

Hey guys, so what did i miss?





So at this point, do you think i might have had a few points when i said the culture was fracturing and it was revolving around Dimma? Maybe i'm not a troll afterall.


Floored by the news, without details cant really assume anything - but whoever's decision it was to terminate this arrangement 10 games after trading away 2 years worth of draft picks away - will definitely have some explaining to do. This stinks of a shitshow. It actually might be worse than i ever painted it to be, imagine that.

I hope you're troll, if not then I question why a Richmond fan is so ****ing negative that your opinions make you look like a troll.

 

[Tiger_4_Life]

Hey guys, so what did i miss?





So at this point, do you think i might have had a few points when i said the culture was fracturing and it was revolving around Dimma? Maybe i'm not a troll afterall.


Floored by the news, without details cant really assume anything - but whoever's decision it was to terminate this arrangement 10 games after trading away 2 years worth of draft picks away - will definitely have some explaining to do. This stinks of a shitshow. It actually might be worse than i ever painted it to be, imagine that.

The way you bang on about the draft picks you'd swear we just gave them away and got nothing in return.

 

[jc12]

Tend to be right though.

Dimma literally just quit mate, we have no draft picks and are bottom 5. Its not a good time to tell me i have s**t-takes. Like it or not bucko's - I was right

You were right about what ? You literally kept saying we are shit until finally it stuck.
At the end of the day we won 3 flags with him , 3 more than other teams would and he should be celebrated , what do you wanna do ? Kill the guy because he ****ed some other chick ?

 

[Not Important]

this.

 

[richoplzbreed]

I actually have a lot of respect for Hardwick pulling the pin. The seasons shot, his reputation would only lessen if he coached out his contract. He'll get a proper break probably get 5x $1mil at GC or Port if they fail.

McQualter gets an audition. We get a long search for a replacement. Room in soft cap for skills, development. Best thing is McQualter wants to win to help his chances of one day being a head coach. He doesn't favour the out of form veterans he's gonna be all about putting best team out. I reckon Cotchin will play 300 and unless he hits a vein of form he'll be done, McIntosh will be dropped and Cumberland will be back. Can't wait to see Banks, Bauer, Biggie, Bradtke out in the ones soon. How'd it be if we knock off Port??? UNLEASH THE McGIESCH!!!!

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

He quit , so it should be resounding yes , same with this year remaining,only way is if he has been sacked and that isn’t the case here.

you can’t say I quit so pay me out

Actually you can, it's just you'll be deafened by raucous laughter from the paymasters!

 

[MooreTreloar]

I come in peace with nothing but praise for Hardwick and your club.

What a sensational coach he was, not just for Richmond but for the AFL. He helped bring Richmond out of the wilderness and for that the AFL is better off. Having Richmond and Collingwood up and about has recently has really made the AFL a much better spectacle. (Even if my Pies trail the Tigers 3-0 in the Premiership tally of the last 10 years.)

Here's hoping you send him off in style on Sunday!

 

[tiger_tough]

Doesn’t matter who we get next if we don’t get good assistants

100% That becomes ALOT easier with an assistant-promotion and the main reason I Don't want Ken Hinkley. We'd have to pay up big dollars to convince him to leave and it'll hurt our ability to bring in quality assistants.

 

[domin8]

Doesn’t matter who we get next if we don’t get good assistants

After listening to Buckley today that’s easier said then done

 

[Rubber Hips]

Dimma's delight: Hardwick’s 10 greatest Tiger moments

Sarah Black takes a look some of the most memorable games in Damien Hardwick's time as Richmond coach

www.afl.com.au

Not much work getting done today

You still “working from home”?

 

[Timothy Luncheon]

Legend of the club. I think deep down I'll be sad for a while still as Dimma has been all I know, but it's important to realise just how hard it is to win a premiership with 18 teams, let alone 3. Building the club up from compromised drafts and building an incredible culture while delivering 3 flags is Dimma's legacy, and it's been amazing to see. Gutted to see him go, but it's not like you can coach for your whole life, and what he and the club has achieved under him is just the greatest.

I've got some real cognative dissonance going on right now

 

[Ctl]

Rance' thoughts on Dimma

 

[Groupie_]

man last night I was a bit smashed and had a false bravado

now I'm actually gutted over this

 

[JAKLAUGHING]