Damien Hardwick has backed himself to lead Gold Coast to their first AFL premiership despite being announced as the club’s new senior coach just three months after he was burnt out at Richmond.
The 51-year-old inked a mammoth six-year deal with the Suns and boldly declared “80 per cent” of the players they need to challenge for a flag are already on the list.
While his signature is undoubtedly a coup for the league’s most disappointing club, the question surrounding his motivation levels had to be asked.
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Hardwick called time on his successful 13-year stint at the Tigers at the end of May and promptly jetted off for an overseas holiday.
He had already gone public with his desire to return to coaching by the end of June – and a landing spot became clear two weeks later when his Port Adelaide premiership teammate Stuart Dew was sacked by Gold Coast.
Hardwick on Monday said the idea that he was burnt out as a coach, and not just at Richmond, was just a “narrative”.
“The fact of the matter is I’d been in that organisation for 13 years and given everything to that group of players,” he said.
“And the fact of the matter is they needed a new voice. I still love coaching and it will always be in my blood, I’m a career coach.
“And the fact of the matter is I’ve got a great bunch of players now that I’m very much looking forward to (coaching).”
Hardwick said he expects to tap into methods that worked for him at the Tigers.
“Brando will have to listen to a couple of old stories that he’ll have to sit there and bear and grin and laugh,” he joked, referencing Richmond premiership winner turned Gold Coast recruit Brandon Ellis.
“But I’ve got a great new bunch of toys that I’m really looking forward to working with and I couldn’t be more excited.”
The coach hosed down speculation that Dustin Martin would join the Suns, noting the Norm Smith medallist remains contracted at Punt Road.
Hardwick also suggested he won’t be raiding Richmond or other clubs to bolster Gold Coast’s football department, satisfied with the setup after recent conversations.
He has, though, forecast changes on the field towards an attacking style similar to what has taken Collingwood to the top of the ladder in 2023.
“You have to tailor a game plan to what you have here, and a lot of the tools I’m looking for are in this building right now,” he said.
“We’ll bring a style of game that will be relatively similar to what you see Collingwood, GWS and Richmond play.
“At this stage, I’m thinking I have all the people I need in the building and I don’t really need to bring anyone else.”
Meanwhile, Hardwick said he had not spoken to Dew.
“It’s very cut-throat, that’s the reality of the situation,” he said.
“My time will come … this is the nature of the business we’re in. No apologies for that, you have to succeed.”
– with AAP
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