Damien Hardwick | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
  • IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.

Damien Hardwick

In a roundabout way there probably is a bit of a link to it.

Divorces and child support are expensive and as I understand it Hardwick hasn't taken a pay cut this year as other highly paid coaches have, which would have left more money to help bolster the off-field personnel.

Instead he extended for the same salary for three more years which is a pay cut of sorts but when you take into account the cut to the soft cap remaining steady is a pretty good result.

There's a big contrast to Chris Scott not taking wages last year to help keep an extra assistant on the books.
I thought he took a cut last year to keep some coaches on, or did I not hear that correctly?
 
We’d be mad not to do it in September Aces. It’s our advantage over the comp - our chaos wins finals, new rules or old rules.
Melbourne already smashed us playing our style but then using the ball instead of getting it forward at all costs.

We were basically full strength against them and they did us easily. Our best won't be with Broad, Balta and likely Nank due to injuries.
 
Melbourne already smashed us playing our style but then using the ball instead of getting it forward at all costs.

We were basically full strength against them and they did us easily. Our best won't be with Broad, Balta and likely Nank due to injuries.

Melbourne won’t kick enough goals to win a PF. Their forward line is still pretty *smile*.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Melbourne won’t kick enough goals to win a PF. Their forward line is still pretty *smile*.
Don’t worry about Melbourne. They are already wobbling towards the finishing line.

Cats still the ones to look out for.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Have a lookse at the RFC website today and tell me Dimma does not look so much older these days.

Stress starting to tell or is just the no shave look?
 
In my experience people do it pretty hard in the first couple of years after a split.

Angst from kids, financial adjustments, friendship splits, moving houses, agreeing to divorce terms etc... all take a toll.

Let's face it, if it was easy to split up there'd be a lot less middle aged people who stayed married.
Can't help wondering if his mind is off somewhere and affecting his coaching?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Plans within plans, schemes within schemes.

Much is afoot at Tigerland, now a professional outfit well tuned to winning silverware.

D Rioli and others are being trialed down back in the magoos. CJ has been slotted into F50 and the key has seemingly been thrown away. For good reason too, though not all of them relate to winning games in 2021.

Dimma has lost speed and experience through tactical tweaking/injury and seems wedded to the idea of slowing the ball down. The ins and outs are a revolving door of uncertainty that must inevitably smear our onfield game.

I have been a big believer in a return to effective chaos once September rolls around, but the renovations, both forced and unforced, currently splitting the team asunder cannot be easily undone.

Has Dimma over-estimated our ability to adapt to change? Or are we laying foundations for 2022, having realistically assessed our chances at beating the new rules with chaos?

Plans within plans, schemes within schemes. More for our coaching staff to ponder than ever before.

All it will take is one win to restore my belief in this group’s 2021 credentials, but there can be no denying that we are facing our greatest test since 2016.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Have a lookse at the RFC website today and tell me Dimma does not look so much older these days.

Stress starting to tell or is just the no shave look?
He's lost weight. Maybe looking after himself better than he was.
TBH though I don't really give a *smile* what he looks like. He's 3 x RFC premiership coach & hopefully soon to be a four timer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
In a roundabout way there probably is a bit of a link to it.

Divorces and child support are expensive and as I understand it Hardwick hasn't taken a pay cut this year as other highly paid coaches have, which would have left more money to help bolster the off-field personnel.

Instead he extended for the same salary for three more years which is a pay cut of sorts but when you take into account the cut to the soft cap remaining steady is a pretty good result.

There's a big contrast to Chris Scott not taking wages last year to help keep an extra assistant on the books.
me thinks you are just guessing that & therefore muck raking.

There would be less than 10 people who know whether or not he took a pay cut & you wouldn't be one of them.

BTW, I also get mail and from what I understand he has taken a paycut this year.

easy isnt it
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5 users
In a roundabout way there probably is a bit of a link to it.

Divorces and child support are expensive and as I understand it Hardwick hasn't taken a pay cut this year as other highly paid coaches have, which would have left more money to help bolster the off-field personnel.

Instead he extended for the same salary for three more years which is a pay cut of sorts but when you take into account the cut to the soft cap remaining steady is a pretty good result.

There's a big contrast to Chris Scott not taking wages last year to help keep an extra assistant on the books.
He took a pay cut in 2018 to keep staff.
Unsure about now.
 
Yeah, the clue was me using the words 'as I understand it'.

Based on what I've heard and read, Hardwick sat on his going rate, which is about 750-800, for the length of the extension he signed.

If you have information to the contrary then feel free to make your case.

You can make arguments back and forth because that price was unders when he first took it and then the soft cap cut has changed the landscape.

Just so we are clear, my personal view, is that it is likely success and potentially his personal circumstances have led to him taking more money than he otherwise would have. If it was 2016 I think he'd be taking a cut to keep more staff.

That's not a criticism either, I have no issue with someone wanting to keep being paid, but it is probably a little indication of where we are at. Full bellies make it that much harder to hunt. It's a bit like our players grumbling about the hubs a little, compared to say Melbourne, who I reckon would relocate to space without complaint.
I am clearly correct though, your post was only "liked" by a full blown nuffie in AA, whereas mine has been liked by 5 esteemed posters at this early stage :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Biggest issue for me with Hardwick is that he has changed our game style and made it much much worse.

We now kick to 50/50 contests laterally, this is a disaster

We never did that in the past, we went quick and up the middle, at least taking territory and halving contests.

We now don't take territory and lose contests.

Hopefully Tom Lynch changes this because every game he misses shows us how much he straightens us up.

here's hoping.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Biggest issue for me with Hardwick is that he has changed our game style and made it much much worse.

We now kick to 50/50 contests laterally, this is a disaster

We never did that in the past, we went quick and up the middle, at least taking territory and halving contests.

We now don't take territory and lose contests.

Hopefully Tom Lynch changes this because every game he misses shows us how much he straightens us up.

here's hoping.
Nailed it. The sideways movement and not taking territory is killing our natural instinct.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users