Fitness chief to cover for Dimma
RICHMOND fitness boss Peter Burge will lead the Tigers’ training in the initial stages of triple premiership coach Damien Hardwick’s extended leave.
Hardwick announced in late October he would take a longer break from the powerhouse club, which is likely to be until February, after a “full on” few years transforming Richmond into an AFL juggernaut.
All AFL clubs will return to post-Christmas training on Wednesday, after first to fourth-year footballers completed a two-week block of training from December 7.
The delayed return dates owe to the extraordinary COVID-19 circumstances that resulted in a later finish to the season for everyone, including an October 24 grand final.
Most teams focus on fitness when they return from their off-season break, so physical performance manager Burge’s figurehead role at Punt Road isn’t unusual.
The Tigers will have a newlook coaching structure in 2021, with prominent members Justin Leppitsch (who is taking a break) and Craig McRae (Hawthorn) departing Hardwick’s flag-winning staff.
One Tiger who won’t be at training on Wednesday is Sydney Stack, who will face a Perth court on the same day for alleged COVID-19 selfquarantine breaches.
Stack spent the Christmas period behind bars after initially being given permission to return to Western Australia to attend his grandfather’s funeral.
The WA border was again closed to Victorians as of midnight on New Year’s Eve, and Richmond confirmed it would not have a club representative in court.
Hardwick confirmed his longer-than-normal absence on radio station 3AW the day after Richmond won its third premiership in four seasons.
“It’s been a pretty full-on three to four years and we’ve done a hell of a lot of work and had a lot of success along the way, but sometimes you need to step back,” he said.
“I’m very lucky that I’ve got some terrific assistants. A couple of those guys will move on, but the coaching group and the people I have around me do a large amount of work and the reality is I sit at the top and manage those guys.
“But I’m very confident those guys can step up and fill those roles.”