AFL news: Damien Hardwick declares he wants to coach again

Just weeks after stepping down at Richmond, Damien Hardwick has revealed he misses coaching and wants to return to the hot seat. But when?

Damien Hardwick wants to return to AFL coaching. Pic: Michael Klein

Damien Hardwick has declared he wants to coach again, admitting “I miss it” just weeks after quitting Richmond.

But he remains unsure when he will step back into any hot seat.

Hardwick stepped away as senior coach at Richmond late last month but said – after a couple of months travelling in Europe from next week – he would be keen to return to the game that he loves.

“I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t see myself doing it,” he said on the Dyl & Friends podcast.

“I love it. I miss it. I’ve been out for two weeks and I wanted to miss it, if that makes sense?

“I need to decompress for a while, I need to go away, I need to reflect. And figure out things that make me good and things that I can sit there and put me in a dark place, as well.”

Hardwick said he needed “a bit of time”.

“But I just love the game … like everyone, I’ve known it for a long time,” he said.

“I’ll go overseas and I’ll still watch the Tigers and watch as many games as I can.

“At some stage I will probably step back in, when that is, I’m not too sure.”

Damien Hardwick has declared he wants to coach again. Picture: Getty Images

West Coast is under pressure following a 171-point loss to Sydney on the weekend that compounded pressure on coach Adam Simpson.

Hardwick travelled to the United States in the wake of his decision before recently returning to Melbourne to celebrate former skipper Trent Cotchin’s 300th game.

But he conceded a lack of routine had troubled him.

“The one thing that footy does is really (put you in a) routine,” he said.

“All of a sudden you take that away and it’s amazing how quickly (you miss it). You enjoy the first couple of days but then it’s like, ‘Oh, what am I going to do now?’.

“I had a couple of days (when) I sort of decompressed and relaxed and then I said, ‘OK, I’m not very good at this’.

“Footy was such a big part of my life and it sort of defined me.”

Damien Hardwick. Picture: Michael Klein

In the wide-ranging interview, Hardwick spoke of his emotion in driving to Tallarook to tell his parents of his decision to leave the club, and Richmond’s now-famous backing of him following a challenging 2016 campaign.

He “made the fatal mistake of returning to golf”, which he said had been returned to the backburner after a disastrous solo round, and said that “it’s been a little bit challenging learning how to relax”.

“I need to find out what my next purpose is about moving forward and getting stuck into something,” he said.

“Otherwise I’ll drive myself insane.”

Basking in a European summer in the lead-up to the AFL finals series is a bucket list item that Hardwick is champing at the bit to tick off.

“I’m just going to see as much as I can … European summer, I’ve never had the chance to do it,” he said.

“I’ve got this ridiculous backpack I’ve bought that I’m sitting there regretting … (I’m telling myself) ‘you’re not 23 anymore’. I’ve got to do it, but come on.”

“I thought, god, I’m going to feel like a real tosser over there catching trains … my kids are over there at the same time, so I’m trying to give them some space.

“It’s going to be quite cool to see them and catch up over there.”

Originally published as AFL news: Damien Hardwick declares he wants to coach again