Former AFL Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has beer in hand to watch game as Jack Riewoldt applauds
Why this photo of Damien Hardwick has brought Tigers fans to tears… for all the right reasons
- Damien Hardwick is enjoying his retirement
- Post picture of him beer in hand ready for game
- Tigers player laughs at him for drinking so early
Damien Hardwick seems to be having no trouble adjusting to life outside of Richmond’s coaching box, at least according to his most recent Twitter post.
The three-time premiership coach, who shocked the AFL world with his sudden decision to step down from managing the Tigers on Tuesday, has posed in a photo looking very relaxed and certainly very refreshed as he waited to watch his old club .
In the photo, posted at 10:07 a.m. Sunday, Hardwick is sitting on a comfortable-looking couch with his feet seemingly up and holding a beer in one hand with a broad smile as a golden retriever snuggles next to him.
‘How long?! Carn the Tigs,” reads the caption to the photo.
One of Hardwick’s former protégés, Richmond spearhead Jack Riewoldt, was quick to notice that Hardwick were preparing early for matchday as the Tigers were not due to play Port Adelaide in the MCG until 1.10pm.
Beer at 10am!!! Haha,” Riewoldt tweeted with an emoji that shed tears of laughter.
Former Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has posted a picture of him looking very relaxed before his old club take on Port Adelaide on Sunday
Tigers spearhead Jack Rieoldt was quick to seize on one particularly telling detail about the tweet
Some of those who commented on the post were inspired to follow suit, using Hardwick’s nickname “Dimma.”
“I’m going to have one dimmed. Well done mate, enjoy your day, hope the tigers win for you,” one Twitter user replied.
Countless others quickly wished Hardwick well after his 13-year stint in charge of the Tigers, which saw the club go from being a perennial club to one that dominated the AFL from 2017 to 2020, only missing the flag in 2018.
The Tigers’ 2017 win ended a 37-year drought for the long-suffering army of Richmond supporters.
“Take a well-deserved break!” one of the loyal Tigers tweeted.
“Slightly less crowded than the coach’s boxmate! I hope you enjoy your retirement,” another wrote.
Hardwick couldn’t contain his emotions as he faced the media on Tuesday after his decision to stop coaching RIchmond became public.
Full Richmond striker Jack Riewoldt was quite amused by his former coach’s apparent new matchday preparation schedule
The 50-year-old Hardwick left the club after spending 307 games in charge of the Tigers, but still had 18 months to complete his contract.
“I’d rather leave too early than too late,” an emotional Hardwick told media on Tuesday, admitting coaching had “all gotten a bit too much” for him.
“I had a good indication at the beginning of the year that I would like this to be my last year and when the season didn’t go the way I wanted it to, I started to wonder if I was the right guy for this. job,” said Hardwick.
“I kept asking myself the question, and if you keep asking yourself the question, you know the answer. If I couldn’t give 100%, I would never coach.
This gives the club the best chance of finding the next coach and I wish Andrew and his assistants all the best.
The final year of Hardwick’s tenure has been a rough one for Richmond, who have slipped to 14th place with just three wins ahead of the game against high-flying Port Adelaide.