Damien Hardwick

Damien Hardwick
Hardwick in February 2020
Personal information
Full name	Damien Patrick Hardwick
Nickname(s)	Dimma, Dimmer, Dimwit
Date of birth	(1972-08-18) 18 August 1972 (age 51)
Original team(s)	North Melbourne U19's/Springvale F.C
Draft	No. 87, 1992 national draft
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	82 kg (181 lb)
Position(s)	Wingman/Defender
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1993–2001	Essendon	153 (13)
2002–2004	Port Adelaide	54 (1)
Total		207 (14)
Coaching career3
Years	Club	Games (W–L–D)
2010–2023	Richmond	307 (170–131–6)
2024–	Gold Coast	0015 (8–7–0)
Club total		322 (178–138–6)
2020	Representative Victoria	001 (1–0–0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2004. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of round 16, 2024.
Career highlights
Playing 2× AFL premiership player: 2000, 2004 W. S. Crichton Medal: 1998 All-Australian team: 2000 Coaching AFLCA Coach of the Year: 2017 3× AFL premiership coach: 2017, 2019, 2020 3× All-Australian Team: 2017, 2019, 2020
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Damien Patrick Hardwick (born 18 August 1972) is a current Australian rules football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League.^[1] He is the former senior coach of the Richmond Football Club, serving in the role between 2010 and mid-2023 inclusive and winning three premierships.^[2]

Hardwick played 207 AFL games as a defender, comprising 153 games for Essendon (1993–2001) and 54 games for Port Adelaide (2002–2004). He won premierships with each club, in 2000 and 2004 respectively.

Hardwick was appointed head coach of Richmond at the end of the 2009 season, in which the club had placed second-last. In 2013, Hardwick's fourth season in charge, Richmond returned to the finals after an eleven-year absence, and in 2017 they defeated Adelaide in the Grand Final to claim their first premiership since 1980. Hardwick also coached Richmond to the 2019 and 2020 premierships and is the longest-tenured coach in the club's history.