Ex-Richmond boss Damien Hardwick ‘signs on to coach the Gold Coast Suns for five years’ after quitting Tigers in shock move due to burnout just three months ago

Triple premiership-winning coach Damien Hardwick has signed on to take charge of the ever-struggling Gold Coast Suns for five years, it has been reported.

The club’s trip to meet with the ex-Tigers boss in Italy worked and he will be unveiled as their new leader as early as next week, the Herald Sun reported.

Hardwick cited burnout as his reason for pulling the pin on his time with Richmond back in May, but appears to have rediscovered his desire to dedicate his life to footy again.

After citing burnout for his shock decision to quit Richmond just three months ago, Hardwick has rediscovered his passion for footy – and he’ll need it to make the Suns a success

He’ll now take charge of the competition’s perennial underperformers, with the AFL’s top brass desperate for him to lift the side into the finals for the first time in their history and justify the league’s huge outlay on the club.

Hardwick is still on holiday in Europe and won’t be back in Australia for a formal announcement until next week.

The Suns chased him all the way to Italy, with club CEO Mark Evans meeting him in the scenic town of Cinque Terre to convince him to sign on.

Cracking the Gold Coast market is a big priority for the league, which has poured mountains of cash into the franchise since it was founded in 2009.

The AFL stumped up an estimated $1million to help pay for NRL star Karmichael Hunt’s code-hopping switch to the team – but the side has never finished higher than 12th on the ladder.

Suns coach Stuart Dew was sacked in July after steering the club to their equal-best season in 2022.

He was replaced by caretaker boss Steven King, who is expected to remain with the team, along with assistant Wayne Campbell.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan applauded the move at the time, saying, ‘They have made a decision that feels like a club that has decided to grow up.’

More to come…