The time is not right to extend Hardwick’s Richmond contract

Completely agree, tying the coaching position to one game is simply stupid. Actaully, to make it sillier, in the last final the tigers were actually in front at half time, so in effect you're saying you´d sack a coach because the team lost a half of football to a side that went on the make a prelim final. Putting that aside, frankly if I were running the club I´d make the coach position a `rolling wave´ contract where providing you dont completely screw up the contract simply continually extends so there´s always 2 years to go. Worse come to worse you have to pull the trigger a year early and pay out 12 months but so what? It would be pretty easy to structure the contract so that the clubs exposure was limited.

The warrior was my first pick but I just don't know how long he will be able to last. Tigger is definitely captaincy material but he's still a while off. While Rancey can definitely be a bit of a lad (he's not on his pat there amongst current captains such as Hodgey), there is also a serious side to him and clearly he;s a deep thinker. Also I don't mind a capitan down back either.

I don’t think Rance would be a good choice of captain either. He's closer to being the class clown than the school captain. Give it to Maric until Nick Vlastuin is a few years older.

I would lock in Rance as a certainty Slane. The rest I agree are inconsistent but have the ability to be top 10 or 20 on their day. Rance should be capitan IMO and Cotchin's continued leadership (or lack thereof) are as much Dimma's coaching as anything. No good giving the players (especially Cotch) an absolute bake after the NM loss when NM targeted Cotchin all day and Hardwick had no answer. Saying he has to win his own battles is only half the story; the coach has to be mindful that an important battle is being lost and do something about it too. One of Dimma's biggest calls as coach may be to relieve Cotchin from captain and let him focus on doing what he does best in getting the footy and delivering it. Im sure right now Dimma believes that 9 possessions in the most important game of the year for the club will burn in Cotchin's gut resulting in 2016 redemption but if you haven't got the leadership traits in you, its hard to conjure them up. If not measurable improvement again in 2016, then it would be hard to justify not making some serious football decisions and Cotchin's leadership would be up there. Yes, Id extend Dimma - until the end of 2017 with performance based clauses factored in. Nothing further required at this point.

Let's imagine for a minute that Richmond are sitting in 2nd position on the ladder after the 2016 H&A. In your scenario Hardwick would not be re-signed until after the finals campaign have finished, and ONLY if he wins a final. Now imagine (for example) that the Lions have had a horrible year and sack Leppa a few weeks before the end of the H&A and are therefore on the lookout for a new coach. A coaches tenure should not rest on the outcome of one game. Hard and fast rules like yours aren't sensible or realistic policies. The Saints lost Lyon to Freo because they delayed re-signing him and you're proposing Richmond follow suit. There are many ways to skin a cat eg re-sign him now or sometime mid-season but insert a get out clause that his contract can be rescinded if they don't make the finals in 2016. This is just an example. I'm sure there are many better ones but waiting until the finals are completed could backfire on them if the Tigers have a great H&A and another club is looking to change coaches.

Dimma's earned it, and the tigers have improved year on year. A two year contract is really only a one year extension. Enough to keep the braying media at bay, but not too expensive to pay out. It's the intelligent choice.

Have total faith with what Dimma is doing at tigerland. Lauded for his gameplan against Freo in Perth and Hawthorn at the G. Was able to modify the team's game plan against Sydney at half time to come back from 31 points down. No longer a one trick pony as may have been his problem of seasons past. Time is right to extend his contract now without any doubt.

Richmond's problem is attracting quality players, which they have not really been able to do recently. Even though he hasn't won a final, the team has improved each year, despite not adding a lot of obvious class to the list. Hardwick's done well enough to warrant an extension.

Why should Richmond have gone 'one step further then they have'? They had a list worse than Melbourne or Carltons when Hardwick took over. Since then they have made prudent draft choices and intelligent trading decisions which has seen a steady improvement. You wouldn't really say that any of their players is a lock for a spot in the top 50 AFL players (Arguments could be mounted for the inclusion of Deledio, Riewoldt, Cotchin, Martin and Rance, but none of them ar a certainty).

Finals has to be a huge consideration. Richmond can't just keep accepting mediocrity and being happy with elimination final losses. The squad at this stage is still fairly strong, not a premiership winning side by any stretch of the imagination, but they still should have managed to go one step further then they have for the past three seasons. He has had 6 seasons at the club now and hasn't managed to win a final, one more season to prove his worth in my eyes and then go from there.

Finals is what counts. The minor round performances mean nothing if they are just going to get to the finals and choke. The contract should not be looked at until seasons end.

Wether you win a finals game or not, that should not determine if a coach is successful or not. It is just a one off game. Position on the ladder is a better reflection and in general Richmond have improved every year under Hardwick. Just the one slip up in 2014 when they came storming home to make the finals. Sign him up for 2 years, more than that is over committing and a 1 year contract does nothing to stop speculation or ease pressure.

The problem with not signing the coach and waiting until the season's end is the media itself. The feeding frenzy that will accompany Richmond's season should they lose a few games will make it almost impossible for the club to focus on football no matter how professional and unified the club is. The media is relentless and wont stop until he's re-signed or sacked. The bottom line is whether there are any other more suitable coaches out there that could take the club forward. Unless Richmond has identified one or two real alternatives, then it has little to lose by signing up Dimma for 2017 with some strict performance based clauses that could trigger an early exit if it really came down to it.

Spot on Gazz. The guy needs to be told to move on. The fact that he's out on the ground shouting orders at other players while not being able to do anything himself shows that hes a waste of space.

Just wait until the end of the year. But the players are just as much to blame. Not going to win a lot of finals with Troy Chaplin in your team!

Would hate to think how the tiges would have gone without Dimma. He's a great coach the players need to step up to the plate.