Damien Hardwick quits as Richmond AFL coach in shock mid-season call
Damien Hardwick had an idea this AFL season would be his last, although his shock mid-season departure from Richmond was hastened by the Tigers’ poor form and came out of a desire to leave the club in the best possible position for the future.
An emotional Hardwick faced the media on Tuesday to confirm he was stepping away after 14 years as Richmond head coach, with three premierships to his name and as the Tigers’ longest serving coach in the club’s 138year history.
His resignation is effective immediately, and assistant coach Andrew McQualter will take the reins on an interim basis as the club begins the search for a new permanent head coach.
“I would rather leave too early than too late,” said Hardwick, who was contracted until the end of next year.
Saturday’s one-point loss to Essendon proved to be his last in charge and fans will be deprived of the chance to bid farewell when the Tigers host Port Adelaide at the MCG on Sunday.
The Tigers sit 14th on the AFL ladder after managing just three victories this season and the 50-year-old, who oversaw 307 games over 14 seasons in the hot seat, said amid the rigours of the job “it all became a bit too much” for him.
“I had a fair indication of the start of the year that I would like this to be my last year and then when the season did not turn out as I would have liked it, I started to question whether I was the right man for this job,” Hardwick said.
“I asked myself the question more and more, and if you keep asking yourself the question, you know the answer. If I could not give 100%, there was no way I was going to coach.
“This gives the club the greatest opportunity to find the next coach and
I wish Andrew and his assistants all the very best.
“It was just time. I’ve tried to cook the sausages 1,000 ways and I couldn’t find 1,001.”
Hardwick’s services are sure to be coveted by a number of AFL clubs, but he said he had no plans to return to the game in the foreseeable future.
“The biggest thing on my plate at the moment is just to decompress ... I just need a break,” he said.
The club’s president, John O’Rourke, said the decision had come as a shock to him and other members of the board, but Hardwick had given it serious thought in the past few weeks and they fully supported him.
“This is a decision Damien has wrestled with for some time and has ultimately come to the conclusion that he no longer has the energy required to coach,” O’Rourke said.
“It is a measure of the man that he has made this decision on what he sees as the best interest of the club. The selflessness is one of his great qualities and for that Damien is and always will be revered as a Richmond man.”
O’Rourke paid tribute to Hardwick and the impact he had had on the club, which he took over in 2010 and set about restoring it as an AFL powerhouse on and off the field. He led the club to premierships in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
“History was created under his watch and for that we will be forever indebted,” O’Rourke said. “Of course while his three premierships will be the headline, he has given our club so much more. He has taught us about genuine care, connection and the power of storytelling. He loves his players and his players loved him.”
Hardwick said the head coach job was at times a lonely role, but that he was grateful to have been given the opportunity.
“The club means so much to me and I want to make sure I leave the game loving the game, not resenting the game,” he said. “I want to make sure that I leave this place with the best feelings.”