When informed of this after the Tigers’ 33-point win,an irritated Hardwick said Brown was “capable of putting his hand up to coach at some stage …[it’s] easy to sit there and make judgment calls”.
Hardwick has also had cracks at David Schwarz,Kane Cornes,John Longmire (Hardwick later admitted he was out of line),Marvel Stadium and even the MCG curator in recent years,but said on Wednesday his job was to support his players.
“Not really my concern. My job is to support my players. End of story. If people get sensitive to it then - part and parcel of the job,as far as I am concerned,” he said.
“We are all big boys. I am sure Jono Brown is OK with it. He will call me a dickhead the next time he sees me and I will probably call him one as well,so we move on pretty quickly.”
Hardwick’s support of his players and club has been a central theme of the Tigers’ dominance since 2017.
His immediate focus,however,is Friday night’s blockbuster against Greater Western Sydney,with the Tigers desperate to shoehorn their way into the top eight.