HARDWICK, Damien

Damien Hardwick came to Essendon after a successful career at VFA team Springvale and, before that, the North Melbourne Under 19s. He started in Essendon's Reserves where he won the Reserves Best and Fairest in 1993 before making his senior debut in a narrow win over Collingwood in Round 5. He came into the team to play on the wing, and his confidence and running ability made him ideal for the job.

In 1995, with the emergence of so many wingmen (Long, Cockatoo-Collins, Hills, Olarenshaw) he had difficulty getting a regular spot. But he soon found his niche as a tough and courageous defender, although it did lead to some visits to the Tribunal.

He consistency was demonstrated by his regular top ten finishes in the Club's Best and Fairest award, culminating in winning both the Crichton Medal and Most Improved Player award in 1998.

He was a key member of the 2000 premiership team and won All-Australian honours that year. He also played in the losing Grand Final team in 2001.

Despite these achievements, Essendon's salary cap restrictions forced the Club to reluctantly trade him to Port Adelaide at the end of 2001. Essendon received picks 31 and 47 for him and used them to draft Joel Reynolds and Andrew Welsh.

The last of his 54 games at Port Adelaide was the Grand Final win over Brisbane in 2004.

He began his coaching career as an assistant coach to Alastair Clarkson at Hawthorn in 2005. After unsuccessful applications at Melbourne and Essendon, he was appointed senior coach at Richmond in 2010. The Tigers were struggling, having had two coaches in 2009, and only won six games in 2010, but gradually improved over the next few years.

He was named Coach of the Year after Richmond won the premiership in 2017, and they went on to win flags again in 2019 and 2020. He unexpectedly retired mid-season in May 2023 after Essendon won the Dreamtime game when Sam Durham kicked the winning goal with the last kick of the match.

Hardwick was awarded AFL Life membership in 2012.