VFL player who was on the end of foul-mouthed abuse from Damien Hardwick breaks his silence

Players from VFL club Williamstown have confirmed claims Richmond Tigers coach Damien Hardwick used threatening language against them as the AFL continues to investigate the incident.

After some rough conduct from both sides in Richmond’s 55-point win on the weekend, Hardwick is alleged to have called Williamstown player Darby Henderson a  ‘weak f***ing prick’. 

He is also alleged to have said words to the effect of ‘come over here and I’ll show you how tough you are’, although Richmond has issued a denial.

Now players at the club have spoken up and confirmed that ‘Dimma’ did indeed threaten their players. 

‘We’ve actually through one of our producers Jacqui Reed speak to the player involved who maintains that the Herald Sun’s quotations are accurate,’ Footy Classified host Sam McClure said.

‘So there is a he-said, she-said going on in the midst of all this.

‘[The AFL] is asking questions of both Williamstown, the VFL and also Richmond and Damien Hardwick specifically.

‘I think we will hear more of this in the coming days, but it is certainly not what the Tiges need.’

The player that Hardwick was allegedly yelling at, Henderson, told News Corp the comments reported were ‘spot on from memory’.

‘I heard what was coming from above and didn’t know who it was, then sort of looked up and saw that it was ‘Dimma’ [Hardwick],’ he said.

‘It was a bit of a weird one. It was just a bit strange … a bit bizarre.

‘He was going pretty hard at me … it would have been five or six minutes (from the incident) before I came off, so obviously he kept it in mind and he was waiting there.’

Darby Henderson of Williamstown was shocked to see it was Hardwick yelling at him from the stands during a match last weekend

Henderson also revealed that a member of the club snapped back at Hardwick in the stands after he made those comments. 

‘One of the support staff sort of started going back at him, but I just kept my mouth shut. He might have been having a fair bit to say to the support staff, too,’ he added.

‘I understand he was sticking up for one of his young players … it was probably in the heat of the moment and I have no hard feelings.’

The pressure is mounting on Hardwick with the Tigers looking set to miss finals again in 2022

Former premiership winner and Hardwick’s former teammate Kane Cornes said the signs of frustration were starting to show and the club might consider moving him on – especially if the Tigers miss the finals this year for the second season in a row.

‘There’s no doubt he’s been frustrated [in recent weeks]. The complaints to the umpires over his captain Toby Nankervis and the undisciplined nature of that – some of the issues he has been clearly frustrated by over the last couple of years.’

‘I think you would be terribly brave to move on from a triple premiership coach that is in contract,’ he said.

‘You never would have thought Alastair Clarkson’s time (at Hawthorn last year) would be up. Now I’m not suggesting that’s at the end of this year (for Richmond), but I think it is a conversation worth having.’