AFL 360 View: Damien Hardwick will be hard for the Suns to ignore

Damien Hardwick couldn’t have positioned himself better for the Suns coaching role if he had tried, and Gold Coast will find it difficult to ignore him for 2024, writes Jon Ralph.

Damien Hardwick Stuart Dew Suns

As always, Damien Hardwick’s sense of timing is impeccable.

As a player and coach, he won a Port Adelaide premiership (2004) and two of his three flags at Richmond (2017 and 2020) with perfectly timed grand final second-half surges.

As Richmond’s departing coach, Hardwick could ­scarcely have orchestrated a better timeline to set himself up if there becomes a vacancy on the Gold Coast throne.

Hardwick is adamant he was burnt out at Richmond and had known this would be his last year for some time.

Damien Hardwick Stuart Dew Suns

He is nothing if not brutally honest, and those around him scoff at suggestions he has artfully positioned himself to seize upon premiership teammate Stuart Dew’s role.

But if Gold Coast eventually loses faith that Dew is the man, Hardwick can find a way to eventually take over as Suns coach while having plausible deniability for what’s happened to his mate.

Even if he has casually tossed the hand grenade into the Gold Coast camp by declaring he was keen to coach again.

It was categorically stated in 2021 and ’22 that Dew would be sacked, only for the Suns to back their man.

The backings are the same again, though this time the situation feels different.

The Suns haven’t improved year-on-year, haven’t minimised the seven-goal losses, haven’t thrived despite the return of star forward Ben King to straighten up their attack.

Gold Coast’s public narrative has been carefully worded and clever – continually backing in Dew without ever guaranteeing his contract for next season.

And yet if Dew can’t pull off a coaching miracle and drag the Suns into their maiden ­finals series this September, the decision ahead would be easy.

Especially given a payout to Dew for his 2024 contract might be $300,000 at best.

Hardwick has jetted overseas on his latest holiday for seven weeks and will be able to return with a decision already made on Dew’s tenure.

Damien Hardwick and Stuart Dew are premiership teammates at Port Adelaide.

He can position his podcast comments last week as a throwaway line even as they made the public aware of what the Suns already knew – he was desperate to coach again next year.

And here is where the Hardwick timing kicks in again.

With three adult kids that don’t require him to endure the Melbourne fishbowl any more, he and partner Alexandra get to move to the Gold Coast where he inherits a list that is easily capable of securing him a sixth AFL flag.

Dew might feel stabbed in the back – especially after premiership coach Alastair Clarkson sniffed around the Suns last year – but Hardwick will be able to claim a clear conscience because he can deny his interest in the job until Dew’s position is decided.

How many coaches in recent memory have been part of a premiership dynasty then found a landing spot so full of potential?

Alastair Clarkson (four flags) was happy to do the hard yards at North Melbourne, Kevin Sheedy (four flags) went to the wild west of Sydney, Leigh Matthews favoured the media game.

It will be difficult for the Suns to ignore a three time premiership coach. Picture: Michael Dodge/AFL Media/Getty Images

The Suns are not the finished product but who wouldn’t want to coach this array of talent?

In the last five drafts alone the Suns have secured Bailey Humphrey (pick 6), Mac Andrew (pick 5), Elijah Hollands (pick 7), Matt Rowell (pick 1), Noah Anderson (pick 2), Sam Flanders (pick 11), Jack Lukosius (pick 2), Ben King (pick 6).

They will bring in a trio of Academy stars who are all considered possible top 10 picks – No. 1 contender Jed Walter, top 5 pick Ethan Read and small-statured but brilliant midfielder Jake Rogers.

And Hardwick is able to inherit the same elite talent that saw him able to coalesce Richmond’s list into something brilliant with its top-end talent in Alex Rance, Trent Cotchin, Shane Edwards, Jack Riewoldt and Dustin Martin.

There have been enough curve balls in the Gold Coast-Dew journey in these past few years but if push comes to shove it is hard to see how the Suns could ignore Hardwick given he seems so open to a move north.