Damien Patrick Hardwick (born 18 August 1972) is a current

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

coach and former player who is the head coach of the

Gold Coast Suns The Gold Coast Suns, officially the Gold Coast Football Club, are a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast in the ...

in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

. He is the former senior coach of the

Richmond Football Club The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed the Tigers or colloquially the Tiges, is a professional Australian rules football team competing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Founded in 1885 in the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, Victoria, Ric ...

, serving in the role between 2010 and mid-2023 inclusive and winning three premierships. Hardwick played 207 AFL games as a defender, comprising 153 games for Essendon (1993–2001) and 54 games for

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

(2002–2004). He won premierships with each club, in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

respectively. Hardwick was appointed head coach of Richmond at the end of the 2009 season, in which the club had placed second-last. In 2013, Hardwick's fourth season in charge, Richmond returned to the finals after an eleven-year absence, and in 2017 they defeated

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

in the Grand Final to claim their first premiership since 1980. Hardwick also coached Richmond to the 2019 and 2020 premierships and is the longest-tenured coach in the club's history.

Early life

He attended St Joseph's College in Ferntree Gully. Hardwick was a key player in the school's football side, which was highly competitive against other private schools in the EIS sports program. In football, Hardwick was usually on the field for most of the game and known to be a tough, hard working, and versatile player who kept stability in play for his side. Although he was often outclassed by others on field, his all round abilities were vital to the side.

AFL playing career

Essendon

Beginning his AFL career with the

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers or colloquially the Dons, is a professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCrac ...

in 1994, Hardwick was known as a tough, solid defender. His aggressive nature sometimes got him into trouble at the

AFL Tribunal The AFL Tribunal is the disciplinary tribunal of the Australian Football League (AFL), an Australian rules football competition. The Tribunal regulates the conduct of players, umpires, and other officials associated with the AFL and its clubs. ...

. He was a crucial member of Essendon's 2000 premiership side. Hardwick played for Essendon from 1994 until 2001 for a total of 153 games and 13 goals.

Port Adelaide

Hardwick was traded from Essendon to the

Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where it is nicknamed the ...

at the end of the 2001 season, and played with the side from 2002 until his retirement at the end of the 2004 season for a total of 54 games and one goal. He was part of Port's premiership win in 2004. In the 2004 Grand Final he won three free kicks at crucial times, including a reversal against Jason Akermanis which cost the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...

a shot at goal.

AFL coaching career

Hawthorn Football Club assistant coach (2005–2009)

In 2005, Hardwick began working as an assistant coach under senior coach Alastair Clarkson at Hawthorn. In 2007, he was shortlisted for the senior coaching job at

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

. However, he was unsuccessful, with the position going to Dean Bailey. Following this application, he was also shortlisted for the senior coaching job at Essendon Football Club to replace the outgoing Kevin Sheedy. However, he was overlooked in favour of former Richmond captain

Matthew Knights Matthew Knights (born 5 October 1970) is an Australian rules football coach and former player who is currently serving as an assistant coach with the West Coast Eagles. Knights played in the midfield for the Richmond Football Club from 1988 t ...

Richmond Football Club senior coach (2010–2023)

On August 25, 2009, Hardwick received his first senior coaching job when he was appointed as the senior coach of

for three years. Hardwick replaced Richmond Football Club caretaker senior coach Jade Rawlings, who replaced Terry Wallace, after Wallace resigned during the middle of the 2009 season, when the Tigers were struggling. In March 2012, Hardwick agreed to a two-year contract extension. On 11 December 2013, club president, Peggy O'Neal, announced that Hardwick had accepted a two-year contract extension that tied him to the club at least until the end of the 2016 season. In 2016, Hardwick agreed to a two-year contract extension to the end of the 2018 season. In 2017, Hardwick coached Richmond to their first premiership since 1980 and their 11th overall with a 48-point victory over the

Adelaide Crows The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed the Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia that was founded in 1990. The Crows have fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since 199 ...

. In 2019, Hardwick coached Richmond to another premiership and their 12th overall. Richmond beat GWS Giants by 89 points. In 2020, Hardwick coached Richmond to their third premiership in four years, and 13th overall. He also coached the Victoria State of Origin side in the one-off 2020 State of Origin match that was played on 28 February 2020 at Marvel Stadium. Hardwick's first season at Richmond as senior coach in the 2010 season did not begin well, with nine straight losses to start the season as well as a few disciplinary issues arising at the club. However, in round 10 the Tigers had a breakthrough win; defeating Port Adelaide by 47 points in extremely wet conditions in Adelaide. They also set a new record for the most tackles ever made in an AFL match (142) since records began in 1987, and kept Port Adelaide to their lowest ever score. The club went on to win five more games making a total of six in Hardwick's first season. They finished the season in 15th position. Richmond under Hardwick over the next 2 seasons continue to show improvement winning 8 games and a draw in the 2011 season, improving that to 10 wins and a draw in the 2012 season. In the 2013 season, Hardwick coached Richmond to its first finals series since

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, and only its third since 1982. defeated Richmond by 20 points in the elimination final after the Tigers led by 26 points at half-time, eliminating Richmond from the finals series. In the 2014 season, Hardwick's team started the year very poorly, having a win–loss record of 3–10 at one stage. But remarkably, the Tigers went on to win their last nine matches of the home and away season to just make it into the finals. Richmond were however beaten convincingly by Port Adelaide by 57 points in the Elimination Final, finishing the season in eighth place. Hardwick began the 2015 season under pressure to make amends for their past two failed Elimination Finals. It didn't start well, losing 4 out of the first 6 before recovering to finish the season in 5th place with 15 wins, same ladder position and win–loss record as 2013. Richmond came up against North Melbourne in the Elimination Final, but once again failed and Hardwick's team suffered their third consecutive first week finals exit. The 2016 season was not a successful year for Hardwick as the Tigers finished the season with just 8 wins from 22 games. The highlight was the round 8 win against the Sydney Swans when Sam Lloyd kicked a goal after the siren. They finished 13th on the premiership ladder, their worst ladder position in four seasons. Damien Hardwick 2017

In the 2017 season, Hardwick coached Richmond to their eleventh VFL/AFL premiership, defeating the Adelaide Crows by 48 points. After becoming the first coach in 37 years to guide to a grand final win in the

2017 AFL Grand Final The 2017 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Adelaide Football Club and the Richmond Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 30 September 2017. It was the 122nd annual grand final of the Austral ...

, Hardwick was chosen as the AFLCA Coach of the Year. He joined a very small group to win three AFL premierships with three clubs as player and coach, ending Richmond's 37 Year drought in the process. In the 2018 season, Hardwick followed up his successful 2017 season by coaching Richmond to their first minor premiership since 1982 and to the finals. Richmond were however eliminated by eventual runners-up Collingwood by 39 points in the Preliminary Final. In the 2019 season, Hardwick became a two-time premiership coach, guiding Richmond to their second premiership in three years and twelfth overall with a resounding 89 point win over GWS Giants in the 2019 AFL Grand Final. It was the third-highest margin of victory in a grand final. In the 2020 season, which was significantly affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...

, Hardwick coached Richmond to their third premiership in four years and became a three-time premiership coach. Richmond finished third on the ladder at the end of the home-and-away season (with a record of 12 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw). They lost to the

(10.9.69 to 8.6.54) in their qualifying final, defeated the St Kilda Saints (12.8.80 to 6.13.49) in their semi-final, and defeated

(6.10.46 to 6.4.40) in their preliminary final. They defeated the Geelong Cats by 31 points (12.9.81 to 7.8.50) in the

grand final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...

The Gabba The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...

– the first grand final to be played outside Victoria and the first night-time grand final. Hardwick was heavily featured in the Prime Video web-series Making Their Mark which documented the

2020 AFL season The 2020 AFL season was the 124th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featur ...

. Despite aiming to become the seventh team to win three consecutive premierships, the 2021 season was not a successful year for Hardwick as the Tigers finished the season with just 9 wins from 22 games. With a combination of multiple injured players and a lack of consistent form, Richmond finished 12th on the premiership ladder, their worst ladder position since 2016 and failed to make finals for the first time in five years. On 22 May 2023, Hardwick unexpectedly announced his immediate resignation from his role as senior coach of the Richmond Football Club, mid-season after Round 10, 2023 . The reason for his resignation was given due to burnout and the stress involved as being a senior coach. Hardwick was then replaced by assistant coach Andrew McQualter as caretaker senior coach of Richmond Football Club for the remainder of the 2023 season.

Gold Coast Suns senior coach (2024–present)

On 21 August 2023, Hardwick was announced as the senior coach of the

on a six-year contract, starting from the 2024 season. Hardwick replaced Gold Coast Suns caretaker senior coach Steven King, who replaced Stuart Dew after Dew was sacked in the middle of the 2023 season.

Statistics

Playing statistics

: , - ,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

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1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, , , , 39 , 16 , , 2 , , 1 , , 123 , , 97 , , 220 , , 38 , , 31 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 7.7 , , 6.1 , , 13.8 , , 2.4 , , 1.9 , , 0 , - ,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, , , , 39 , 17 , , 1 , , 1 , , 170 , , 102 , , 272 , , 60 , , 22 , , 0.1 , , 0.1 , , 10.0 , , 6.0 , , 16.0 , , 3.5 , , 1.3 , , 0 , - ,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, , , , 39 , 15 , , 3 , , 2 , , 177 , , 87 , , 264 , , 55 , , 26 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 11.8 , , 5.8 , , 17.6 , , 3.7 , , 1.7 , , 3 , - ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, , , , 11 , 23 , , 0 , , 1 , , 325 , , 117 , , 442 , , 87 , , 43 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 14.1 , , 5.1 , , 19.2 , , 3.8 , , 1.9 , , 9 , - ,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, , , , 11 , 20 , , 0 , , 0 , , 246 , , 108 , , 354 , , 51 , , 32 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 12.3 , , 5.4 , , 17.7 , , 2.6 , , 1.6 , , 0 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

^# , , , , 11 , 24 , , 0 , , 1 , , 270 , , 172 , , 442 , , 71 , , 55 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 11.3 , , 7.2 , , 18.4 , , 3.0 , , 2.3 , , 0 , - ,

, , , , 11 , 21 , , 1 , , 0 , , 203 , , 155 , , 358 , , 72 , , 41 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 9.7 , , 7.4 , , 17.0 , , 3.4 , , 2.0 , , 0 , - ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, , , , 11 , 20 , , 0 , , 1 , , 182 , , 121 , , 303 , , 58 , , 50 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 9.1 , , 6.1 , , 15.2 , , 2.9 , , 2.5 , , 0 , - ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, , , , 11 , 20 , , 0 , , 2 , , 154 , , 111 , , 265 , , 57 , , 42 , , 0.0 , , 0.1 , , 7.7 , , 5.6 , , 13.3 , , 2.9 , , 2.1 , , 0 , - , bgcolor=F0E68C ,

^# , , , , 11 , 14 , , 1 , , 0 , , 80 , , 86 , , 166 , , 34 , , 27 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 5.7 , , 6.1 , , 11.9 , , 2.4 , , 1.9 , , 0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 207 !! 14 !! 13 !! 2106 !! 1263 !! 3369 !! 645 !! 398 !! 0.1 !! 0.1 !! 10.2 !! 6.1 !! 16.3 !! 3.1 !! 1.9 !! 15

Coaching statistics

:''Statistics are correct to the end of Round 24, 2024.'' *Ladder position after Hardwick's final match

Honours and achievements

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...

Under-19s premiership player: 1990, 1991 * Essendon

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

1998 * Essendon premiership player 2000 *

All-Australian The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perfo ...

2000 *

International rules International rules football (; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed to facilitate international represe ...

series: 2000, 2001 *

premiership player 2004 * Hawthorn premiership assistant coach 2008 * premiership coach: 2017, 2019, 2020 * Jock McHale Medal: 2017, 2019, 2020 *AFLCA Coach of the Year 2017

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardwick, Damien 1972 births Living people Essendon Football Club players Essendon Football Club premiership players Richmond Football Club coaches Richmond Football Club premiership coaches Port Adelaide Football Club players Port Adelaide Football Club premiership players Port Adelaide Football Club players (all competitions) All-Australians (AFL) Crichton Medal winners Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Australia international rules football team players All-Australian coaches VFL/AFL premiership players VFL/AFL premiership coaches