Damien Hardwick flags cutting leave short to return for Tigers’ first post-Christmas training session

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick wasn’t expected back at the club until February – but there are now talks he may cut his break short.

Damien Hardwick could cut short his planned extended break and return to Punt Road in time for Richmond’s first post-Christmas training session.

The Tigers were set to resume on Thursday, but football boss Tim Livingstone has made the call to delay an official return until next Monday, so the full group can train together.

AFL players can train in groups of only 10 from Wednesday until they have a COVID-19 test and return a negative result before the end of this week.

The triple premiership coach announced after Richmond’s Grand Final victory over Geelong in late October that he would enjoy a longer off-season and not be back until “maybe February”.

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Damien Hardwick speaking with Richmond’s physical performance manager Peter Burge during last season. Picture: Michael Klein

Senior coaches typically take a backseat early in the pre-season, and the Tigers’ physical performance manager Peter Burge is set to be in charge for the initial stages.

Hardwick has transformed Richmond into an AFL juggernaut across the past four seasons, but that’s also made for a taxing period for him.

“It’s been a pretty full on three-to-four years and we’ve done a hell of a lot of work and had a lot of success along the way, but sometimes you need to step back,” he told 3AW at the time.

“I’m very lucky that I’ve got some terrific assistants. A couple of those guys will move on, but the coaching group and the people I have around me do a large amount of work and the reality is I sit at the top and manage those guys.

“I’m very confident those guys can step up and fill those roles, because it’s been a tough year – professionally and personally.

“I’ll step back for a little while and won’t come back until maybe February … just to give myself a little bit of a break and a bit of breathing room, because I need it at the moment.”

Sydney Stack is one Tiger whose future remains unclear entering the 2021 season. Picture: Michael Klein

Most AFL clubs are going to resume on Wednesday or Thursday, after first-to-fourth-year footballers completed a two-week training block from December 7.

The delayed return dates owe to the extraordinary COVID-19 circumstances that resulted in a later finish to the season for everyone, including an October 24 Grand Final.

The Tigers will have a new-look coaching structure in 2021, with prominent members Justin Leppitsch (break) and Craig McRae (Hawthorn) departing Hardwick’s flag-winning staff.

One Richmond player whose status remains unclear is Sydney Stack, who will face a Perth court on Wednesday for alleged COVID-19 self-quarantine breaches.

Stack spent the Christmas period behind bars after initially being given permission to return to Western Australia to attend his late grandfather’s funeral.

The WA border was again closed to Victorians as of midnight on New Year’s Eve, and Richmond confirmed it won’t have a club representative in court.