Richmond legend spills beans on coach’s girlfriend scandal

Trent Cotchin has come clean on the ugly drama that followed Damien Hardwick’s marriage breakdown in a scandal that rocked the AFL.

Damien Hardwick and Alexandra Crow. Pic: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos

Trent Cotchin has admitted for the first time there was a rift between himself and his long-term mentor Damien Hardwick after the Richmond coach’s marriage breakdown.

The football club was reportedly rocked when it emerged Hardwick had split from wife Danielle and had started a new relationship with former Tigers employee Alexandra Crow.

It first emerged in December, 2020, that the Gold Coast Suns coach and Danielle had split during the league’s turbulent 2020 season where every club was forced to relocate to a Covid-19 quarantine “hub” in Queensland.

Just days later, it was first reported the club was in turmoil as a result of Hardwick’s relationship with Crow.

Cotchin, who is speaking out about the drama in his new autobiography From The Heart, has now confirmed Hardwick’s new romance caused a divide between the coach and sections of the football club.

As first reported by The Herald Sun, Cotchin writes: “Was it a distraction for the group? In my view, at times it was.

Damien Hardwick and Danielle. AAP Image/Joe Castro.

Damien Hardwick and partner Alexandra Crow. Photo by Michael Klein.

“Did it impact my relationship with Dimma? I would say yes, at that point, 100 per cent.”

He went on to write: “We had built this culture on a platform of family, connection and love – and Dimma and Danielle’s relationship had played a big part in all this – so it was only natural to be worried about the potential fallout”.

Often referred to by the former Tigers coach as “Mrs Hardwick” in press conferences, Danielle had been by her husband’s side through an incredibly successful career in football that included flags as a player with Essendon and Port Adelaide and three more as coach of Richmond.

Danielle was incredibly well-liked at Richmond and was referred to as the “second family” of Cotchin and his wife Brooke in a Christmas Instagram post in 2020.

Danielle broke her silence about the situation nine months later, admitting she was still grieving about the broken marriage.

The couple split after being together for 30 years.

Alexandra Crow sits next to Damien Hardwick’s mum Pam and his children. Pic: Michael Klein

It was a sad sight for many that Danielle did not attend Hardwick’s emotional press conference when he announced his decision to step down as coach of the Tigers earlier this year.

The pair’s three children Ben, Isabelle and Imogen were seated in the front row next to Hardwick’s mum Pam and Crow.

Cotchin now admits the Hardwick scandal played a part in the club’s 2021 season flop where they failed to qualify for the finals after winning the flag 12 months prior.

“I still loved Dimma and still respected him as a coach … but I am not sure my relationship with him ever got back to the level it had been before,” he said.

“For whatever reason, there always seemed to be a bit of a barrier between us. Maybe it wasn’t just the captain and the coach; maybe it was emblematic of the group’s connection that season.

Damien Hardwick and Alexandra Crow. Pic: Morgan Hancock/AFL Photos

“We didn’t lose the plot in 2021 but if I reflect properly, there just wasn’t the same insane connection between the playing group that had been our suit of armour from 2017 to 2020.”

Cotchin has been dropping several bombs on Hardwick in the book, revealing also a piece of the puzzle on why Hardwick quit in the middle of the season.

The 33-year-old, who retired at season’s end, lifted the lid on the game that proved the catalyst for Hardwick’s shock departure from Tigerland.

Hoping to make one last push for a premiership, Richmond’s one-point loss to Essendon in Round 10 at the MCG all but put an end to those hopes as the Tigers sat 14th on the ladder with just three wins.

Cotchin writes Hardwick ripped into the team while referring to Essendon as a “bunch of spuds”.

Cotchin said Hardwick described Richmond’s performance as “putrid” and said “the way some of us had played meant he would just get “another c*** to replace us”.

On the Monday after the game, Hardwick told Cotchin about his plan to quit as coach and publicly announced his decision on the Tuesday.

Hardwick is now beginning a new chapter on and off the field after signing a monster six-year deal to coach the Suns.