AFL premiership-winning coach Damien Hardwick’s new lover wanted a statue erected in his honour.
Less than a year before Tigers sales rep Alexandra Crow hooked up with her idol, Crow could barely contain her admiration for the Richmond coach.
In July 2019, Crow hit footy forum BigFooty.com to praise her soon-to-be lover after he reached a coaching milestone on par with Richmond legend Jack Dyer.
Alexandra Crow has been named as the woman Tigers coach Damien Hardwick is now in a relationship with
Dustin Martin and Damien Hardwick celebrate victory after the 2019 AFL Grand Final
Damien Hardwick (pictured with wife Danielle and the AFL premiership cup) has steered the Tigers to three premierships in four seasons
‘Hi @damienhardwick, first time caller long time listener. Just wondering when you will be getting a statue,’ she wrote.
The post, along with all of Ms Crow’s social media pages, has since been removed as word of the scandal broke.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal the relationship has caused waves across the AFL, but nowhere more than at rival club Carlton.
A source told Daily Mail Australia Crow had been in a long-term relationship with a Carlton executive, whom she owned property with.
Records show she purchased the $1.2 million Ascot Vale home in May 2019.
Hardwick and Crow have not been spotted together since just before Christmas when they were seen looking stressed at a rooftop pub in Melbourne.
Sources have suggested Hardwick’s wife Danielle learned of the affair after travelling to the Queensland hub with her daughter during Richmond’s premiership winning 2020 season.
It is understood she left the hub distraught.
Hardwick is believed to have travelled back to Melbourne with Crow before shacking up with her in trendy Elwood.
Daily Mail Australia has been told Tigers’ bosses had been worried about Hardwick since well before the COVID-19 lockdown began in March.
In Konrad Marshall’s book The Hard Way: The Story of Richmond’s 13th premiership, it was claimed Hardwick was so incensed about the lockdown he would tear COVID-19 posters down from the walls at Punt Road.
The book claimed Richmond CEO Brendon Gale had to tell Hardwick to place his trust in the experts’ response to COVID-19 otherwise his negativity could ‘derail the Tigers’ season’.
The AFL world is in shock over another sad marriage split after Damien Hardwick separated from wife Danielle
Hardwick and Danielle are pictured at a birthday celebration
In a media conference immediately after the Tigers’ premiership win over Geelong, Hardwick admitted his attitude had been wrong and it took words from the club’s leaders to turn him around.
As the revelations of his affair and family turmoil throughout last year continue to emerge, Tigers fans are wondering how on earth he managed to bring home the flag – or how Geelong could lose it.
Hardwick – a three-time premiership coach with the Tigers – allegedly split with his wife last month.
Melbourne newspaper the Herald Sun rolled out the scandal on Monday afternoon, claiming ‘the relationship has rocked staff within the club and could affect the playing group’.
Danielle Hardwick – the mother of Hardwick’s three kids – is much-loved in Tigers circles and has previously been credited with helping the side’s premiership success.
She and their two daughters spent Christmas with the family of Tigers captain Trent Cotchin.
Cotchin’s wife Brooke posted a picture of the Hardwick girls and called them ‘second fam’ on social media.
Their split came just days after Collingwood Magpies coach Nathan Buckley confirmed he and wife Tania had split early last year.
Damien Hardwick and wife Danielle had three kids together
Something in the water: The Hardwicks aren’t the only famous AFL golden couple to split recently. Nathan Buckley and wife Tania Minnici (pictured) split in early 2020 after 18 years of marriage
Geelong Cats star Gary Rohan and wife Amie also split last year, as did former North Melbourne star Majak Daw and partner Emily McKay, along with Cats champion Jimmy Bartel and his glamourous former wife Nadia.
In 2019, Hardwick revealed how he was convinced by his wife to select Marlion Pickett to make his AFL debut in the 2019 grand final.
Pickett has since become an integral part of the Tigers line-up with 19 games this season, including a second victorious grand final.
‘I must admit, she was pushing Marlion harder than anyone,’ Hardwick told Channel Nine’s AFL Footy Show the day after Pickett’s memorable debut in 2019.
‘She goes, “You’ve just got to play him, he’s too good”.
‘She’s been a terrific supporter of mine and behind every man is a great woman and I’m very fortunate.’
In 2018, Hardwick confessed in a pre-match interview with Triple M that he had a few sleepless nights following his side’s loss in Perth.
‘It comes from the Mrs Hardwick, no win, no love,’ he quipped.
‘I’m a bit flat, boys!’
Earlier this season Hardwick confessed in a press conference he was told off by his wife in the wake of his ‘out of line’ complaints about the Sydney Swans’ defensive tactics.
Sad split: Last year saw another star make headlines for all the wrong reasons. Fans were stunned when it was reported that Geelong’s Gary Rohan had split from his wife, Amie, just months after she’d given birth – and two years after losing one of their twins
Billy Brownless (right) had a very public falling-out with mate Garry Lyon after he hooked up with his wife Nicky (left) in 2016
Nadia Bartel split with Jimmy Bartel after news of his affair got out
‘It was a shocker on my behalf,’ Hardwick said.
‘It was out of line. I was probably frustrated and let the situation get the better of me.
‘I called up ‘Horse’ (Swans coach John Longmire) and apologised. It was out of line on my behalf, so we had a good conversation and we moved on pretty quickly. I’ll just worry about what I can control and continue to do that.
‘(Mrs Hardwick) wasn’t overly happy with the press conference. She gave me a dressing down after it. That was a good result.’
When the Herald Sun contacted the club, the Tigers stated they were aware Hardwick was currently in a relationship with a member of the administration staff.
‘The Club has no concerns with this under Club policy. Beyond this, it is a private matter and we ask that privacy be respected,’ they stated.
Hardwick has been granted leave until February.
‘I’m going to take a bit of a longer break this year over summer,’ Hardwick told radio station 3AW in October.
‘It’s been a pretty full-on three-four years and we’ve done a hell of a lot of work and had a lot of success along the way but sometimes you need to step back.
‘I’m very lucky that I’ve got some terrific assistants, and a couple of those guys will move on, but the coaching group and the people I have around me do a large amount of work and the reality is I sit at the top and manage those guys.’
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