Prediction In the end, which club will Damien Hardwick be most associated with?

In the end, which club will Damien Hardwick be most associated with?

  • Essendon

    Votes: 9 11.1%
  • Port Adelaide

    Votes: 4 4.9%
  • Richmond

    Votes: 60 74.1%
  • Gold Coast

    Votes: 8 9.9%

  • Total voters
    81

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I would say Richmond but if he wins even 1 flag at the Suns (plus spends 5-10 years there) it will be close to 50/50 given the enormity of that (even in comparison to what he did at the Tigers)
FWIW a Suns premiership with Dimma wouldn't just be the first one for the club, but also the first time any pro sports team on the Gold Coast wins an elite level national sporting league premiership/championship. That in itself is a huge deal locally after close to 40 years of constant failure but I don't know if the enormity of that achievement will be told if/when Dimma reaches the mountain top with the Suns. Some have gone as far as to call it a curse.
 
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I think you can immediately rule out Port & Essendon (baring him going back) as most would associate him with Richmond now & his time with Essendon & Port where prior to that.

You’d think it would be Richmond, but if he suddenly wins 2-3 flags at GC it will make things interesting.

Richmond is always going to be bigger supporter wise & rightly or wrong that equals more history written about & more talk about. So you could make an argument no matter what happens at GC, it will be just the foot note & he will always be seen as Richmond
 
I think you can immediately rule out Port & Essendon (baring him going back) as most would associate him with Richmond now & his time with Essendon & Port where prior to that.

You’d think it would be Richmond, but if he suddenly wins 2-3 flags at GC it will make things interesting.

Richmond is always going to be bigger supporter wise & rightly or wrong that equals more history written about & more talk about. So you could make an argument no matter what happens at GC, it will be just the foot note & he will always be seen as Richmond
To be fair, Collingwood has had the biggest supporter base in the league for a long time and Leigh Matthews broke the infamous Colliwobbles curse but he's viewed more as a Brisbane person than he is a Collingwood person. Obviously 3 flags vs 1 flag is a big factor in that as well but the point was that just having a big supporter base doesn't necessarily get you over the line here. I'd have thought Dimma would need to win at least 2 flags with the Suns for people to have a legitimate discussion about which club he'll be most associated with at the end of his career.
 
To me it doesn't really matter, just glad he helped us break our long drought and put our club back on the map. One thing I will say he sure knows what it takes to win premierships. Will watch with interest how he goes at Gold Coast.
 
He was a role player at Essendon & Port. At Richmond he was front and centre. So at this stage, Richmond. That said, if he wins a flag or 2 at Gold Coast, who knows?

As an extension, which club do people see Leigh Matthews most associated with? I remember him playing but I see him as a Brisbane person.
 
To be fair, Collingwood has had the biggest supporter base in the league for a long time and Leigh Matthews broke the infamous Colliwobbles curse but he's viewed more as a Brisbane person than he is a Collingwood person. Obviously 3 flags vs 1 flag is a big factor in that as well but the point was that just having a big supporter base doesn't necessarily get you over the line here. I'd have thought Dimma would need to win at least 2 flags with the Suns for people to have a legitimate discussion about which club he'll be most associated with at the end of his career.
I’d say Lethal is remembered well and truly for his Hawthorn and Brisbane achievements over Collingwood
 

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To be fair, Collingwood has had the biggest supporter base in the league for a long time and Leigh Matthews broke the infamous Colliwobbles curse but he's viewed more as a Brisbane person than he is a Collingwood person. Obviously 3 flags vs 1 flag is a big factor in that as well but the point was that just having a big supporter base doesn't necessarily get you over the line here. I'd have thought Dimma would need to win at least 2 flags with the Suns for people to have a legitimate discussion about which club he'll be most associated with at the end of his career.
I think when one picture Leigh Matthews, then brown and gold springs more to mind than Brisbane or Collingwood…

But then again I still see Ron Barrasi as a North Melbourne person.

Guess it’s which era your mind is most stuck in…
 
In less he has a ton of success at another club it will be hard to ever beat 3 Premierships at Richmond.
It trumps his whole playing career and even than he had success at two clubs. He would have also made a lot more money in coaching than he ever did playing.
 
I think when one picture Leigh Matthews, then brown and gold springs more to mind than Brisbane or Collingwood…

But then again I still see Ron Barrasi as a North Melbourne person.

Guess it’s which era your mind is most stuck in…
Younger fans will tell you Brisbane. Older fans will tell you Hawthorn. No one will tell you Collingwood.

The point was playing/coaching for a big fanbase doesn't necessarily get you over the line on the topic. Lethal was exceptional as both a player and that makes it an interesting discussion point. Dimma has been involved in at least one premiership at every club he's been involved with: Essendon - 2000, Port Adelaide - 2004, Hawthorn - 2008, Richmond - 2017, 2019, 2020. Several clubs can lay claim to him and Gold Coast may very well join that list if he can secure another flag but I think it's going to require multiple premierships to make a legitimate argument that he should be remembered more as a Gold Coast person when compared to Richmond.
 
Younger fans will tell you Brisbane. Older fans will tell you Hawthorn. No one will tell you Collingwood.

The point was playing/coaching for a big fanbase doesn't necessarily get you over the line on the topic. Lethal was exceptional as both a player and that makes it an interesting discussion point. Dimma has been involved in at least one premiership at every club he's been involved with: Essendon - 2000, Port Adelaide - 2004, Hawthorn - 2008, Richmond - 2017, 2019, 2020. Several clubs can lay claim to him and Gold Coast may very well join that list if he can secure another flag but I think it's going to require multiple premierships to make a legitimate argument that he should be remembered more as a Gold Coast person when compared to Richmond.
It also be interesting which club he’ll support or associate with when he finally retires.

Barassi- Melbourne
Sheedy - Essendon
Hafey - Richmond
Malthouse ?
Matthews - ?
 
It also be interesting which club he’ll support or associate with when he finally retires.

Barassi- Melbourne
Sheedy - Essendon
Hafey - Richmond
Malthouse ?
Matthews - ?
Lethal lives in Brisbane and is currently on the Lions board of directors so I'd guess he'd say he supports Brisbane more than others. He's been involved with the club for 20-25 years now.

Who knows with Malthouse. He didn't exactly have the best exits at Collingwood or Carlton and is possibly still really bitter about it. Maybe West Coast would be his answer? He'll always be the inaugural premiership coach at the Eagles and I'm sure the West Aussies will forever appreciate that.
 
Robbo will always remember him as a Bomber. He still has wet dreams about the Hardwick Wallis Soloman halfbackline.

Port fans will always remember him as an inaugural Premiership player.

Tiger fans will always remember him as a 3 time coaching legend.

Who knows how GC fans will remember him, but his timing is simply superb.

Amazing record Dimma. Good tough backman who success followed. That doesn't happen for no reason. He brought something above his ability.

As a coach, he actually tried to call a game off mid game the year before the Premierships started because he was so flustered. Then he would have been sacked if the Richmond challenge mob had half a brain on how to get elected. Then he brought some magic back with him from a Harvard business course, and combined with Dustin Martin, Cotch and a bit of Jack, went on a Premiership tear.

No matter what anyone thinks of him, he is a winner. And history remembers winners fondly.

But pretty simply, he is well credentialled and liked at Essendon and Port.

He is a Tiger Legend.
 
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