Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick celebrates Matt Rowell’s new deal with another cheeky salute

Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick has conceded he has ‘be better’ after he was fined by the AFL for his middle-finger gesture – but not before he had another one to deliver.

Gold Coast Suns coach Damien Hardwick concedes he has to “be better” but found a cheeky, two-fingered way to put his $2000 fine for delivering the bird to umpires in last week’s loss to GWS in comedic perspective.

Hardwick said he’d pay the fine, which only arose after vision was showed during his appearance on AFL 360 this week, not during the broadcast of the game, and the fine would be matched by a charitable donation from Fox Footy.

But at the start of his weekly press conference on Thursday, Hardwick gave a brief two-fingered salute, reflecting the two-year-deal signed by Suns star Matt Rowell, then quickly turning his fingers around before later declaring “The AFL and humour, I’m not sure they could be used in the same sentence”.

“Great news it’s a two-year deal,” Hardwick said as he vigorously whipped his two fingers up, in the air.

“Oh, sh-t, I should turn them around.”

After much laughter, Hardwick ploughed on with his excitement at Rowell’s extension, knowing the midfield bull had spoken to at least four Victorian clubs, something the Suns are also doing.

“We’ve got some really exciting players we are talking to that we are really excited at the prospect of coming,” he said.

“ It’s not something any coach feels overly comfortable about, but we are all big boys.”

He said Rowell had shown he believed in the direction the Suns were heading, with a maiden finals berth in sight, despite slipping out of the top eight following the loss to the Giants.

“Anytime you are an interstate club and he’s a Victorian boy and he’s got the overtures at home, it will come calling,” he said.

“What Matt sees, he’s very close to the playing group … he can see what this club will eventually become. We’ve got some work to do, but he sees the possibility of what may be.”

Damien Hardwick on AFL360

That includes an emphasis on goalkicking against Melbourne this week, and more controlled emotions in the coaching box from Hardwick who said he had to get back to the “Truman Show mentality” of being on camera all the time.

“I’ve got to be better, no question about that,” he said.

“I make mistakes in games and every now and then the umpire is going to make a blue. They have a tougher job than me to be perfectly honest.

“They do a pretty good job. Unless you are prepared to put up your hand and do it yourself, just shut up and cop your whack.”

Suns ask Fox Footy to pay fine for Dimma’s middle-finger salute

– Jon Ralph and Josh Barnes

The AFL has fined Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick $2000 for his middle-finger salute, with the triple premiership coach asking Fox Footy to foot the bill.

The Herald Sun revealed on Tuesday that the AFL was unimpressed with Hardwick’s conduct and would seek an explanation from the Suns coach.

That response came in the form of a $2000 fine for Hardwick.

He was furious when Jake Stringer was not penalised for insufficient intent in the final moments of the Gold Coast loss despite his kick being directed towards the boundary line.

It was not officially shown on the game telecast but was only broadcast when Hardwick appeared on Fox Footy’s AFL360 on Monday night.

“You blokes, you’ve killed me with that,” he said as the vision was shown.

The league has already fined stars Bailey Smith and Harley Reid $1000 for their one-fingered salutes this year.

Hardwick’s middle-fingered salute was delivered in the coaches box and caught on cameras after the Suns failed to win a key insufficient intent decision.

The Suns would have won the ball close to full back and could have had a final chance to win the game against Greater Western Sydney.

Hardwick has been fined by the league. Picture: Getty Images

The AFL is keen for its senior coaches not to criticise umpires and be role models in society at all times.

Hardwick told Fox Footy on Monday night that when Jake Stringer was not penalised he was particularly unhappy.

“I love Nathan Williamson, the umpire that made the decision, but I thought ‘oh, good, we’re going to have one last crack at it’, and then when he called the boundary throw-in, I was like ‘What?! What?!’” he said.

“It was one of those ones, and look, it should have been insufficient intent, we know that. But at the end of the day, the game was dead and buried, so we move on pretty quickly.”

While Hardwick joked about his explanation the league was not impressed because it was clearly directed at an umpire.