Richmond has started its search for its next senior coach with CEO Brendon Gale keeping tight-lipped around one potential candidate.
Damien Hardwick formally announced his resignation as coach of Richmond effective immediately on Tuesday, ending a 14-year tenure at the club where he won three premierships.
While addressing the media, Hardwick said that finding the motivation required to coach was becoming “a little too much” as he determined he had no desire to continue.
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The club has confirmed that assistant coach Andrew McQualter will lead the side as interim head coach for Sunday’s round 11 clash with Port Adelaide.
Speaking on Nine’s Today, Gale attributed the Tigers’ poor start to the season as a factor in Hardwick’s decision
“Initially, we were all a little confronted and surprised with the decision,” he said.
“But upon reflection, we’re probably not surprised. Damien has operated at an extremely high level for many years, he’s very driven and, I guess, the losses in recent weeks have been harder.”
Gale acknowledged the unusual mid-season timing of Hardwick’s announcement but said his sudden departure would benefit the club’s search for a new senior coach.
“It’s selfless and that really sums up the measure of Damien,” he said
AFL world rocked by Richmond coach Damien Hardwick’s resignation
“He can’t give the club, he can’t give the team 110 per cent, which he’s been accustomed to and which we’ve expected, so on that basis he’s said, ‘It’s time’.
“He always said he would call it time if he didn’t have anything left in the tank and he did.
“And what it does is it allows us to really prepare to get our ducks lined up and get stuck into the process of appointing the next coach, the next Damien Hardwick, and allows us to get well ahead of the game.”
Asked if the selection process had already begun, Gale said the search would start with Hardwick’s chapter now closed.
”[Tuesday] was about Damien, it was about acknowledging his incredible contribution – he’s a record-breaking coach at our footy club [with] three premierships, that are really hard to win,” he said.
“It was a celebration tinged with sadness and loss, but now, from this day going forward, our attention will turn to the process and that is defining the sort of coach we want to meet our immediate needs future needs and getting a sense of those attributes.
“Then going to the market and thinking about which [potential] coach might match those requirements and might be interested in the opportunity that we provide.”
With not a moment to spare, rumours have already begun to swirl around Hardwick’s successor.
Port Adelaide is yet to decide whether senior coach Ken Hinkley will be re-signed beyond this season, leading to speculation of a potential move to Melbourne.
Asked if Hinkley was being considered for the role, Gale quickly quashed the idea, saying there was a process to work through before settling on a target.
“We can’t put the cart before the horse,” he said.
“The first process is really mapping out what we think is required to coach Richmond given the composition of our list now and into the future, and once we map that out, then we go and evaluate all the potential candidates.
“And because of Damien’s selfless decision, it gives us the time and space to go through that process and make a considered, and hopefully strong decision.”
To end the interview, Today host Karl Stefanovic quipped: “If Andrew has a win over Ken on the weekend it will set the cat among the pigeons”.
Unwilling to respond, Gale remained tight-lipped – awkwardly staring down the camera.
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