The AFL is reportedly now investigating a job given to the partner of head coach Damien Hardwick by the Gold Coast Suns, after other clubs raised concerns.
Footy reporter Damian Barrett revealed that several teams have spoken to the AFL over a potential breach of competition spending rules in the Suns’ employment of Alexandra Crow – the partner of coach Hardwick.
Crow has taken up a new role as a consultant on the club’s consumer and commercial strategy projects.
On Monday night, Barrett revealed that the AFL is now conducting an investigation into the situation
‘This was brought to our attention by the clubs who got wind of the fact she was working there,’ Barrett said on Footy Classified.
‘Some clubs believe this should be in the soft cap ‘realm’, which is the term AFL CEO Andrew Dillon used when addressing the Chris Scott situation.
Alexandra Crow – the partner of coach Hardwick – has taken up the new role as a consultant on the club’s consumer and commercial strategy projects
The AFL is reportedly investigating the issue after several AFL clubs raised concerns
‘The employment of a partner of a person who is either on a playing list or coaching panel is the domain of the AFL integrity unit. There was either no knowledge, or communications have been sparingly sent to the AFL when it came to this.
‘And they are absolutely investigating this and looking into it on the back of clubs raising it.’
When questioned why the situation raises red flags, Barrett remarked: ‘At the very least the optics are terrible. The AFL wasn’t aware of it fully and across it.’
Rival clubs are concerned her new job is a way to effectively pay Hardwick more money without having it counted in the ‘soft cap’ which limits clubs’ spending on coaches and football department staff.
The soft cap for each football club in the 2025 season is $7.7 million. Twenty per cent of a coach’s salary can be paid outside the cap.
Suns boss Mark Evans said: ‘I know the role and the size of the role and I am certain there will be no issues for the AFL or club on any front.’
Hardwick met Crow while she was working for Richmond’s commercial sales team in 2020.
They officially became a couple after Hardwick created headlines by leaving Danielle, his wife of 25 years and the mother of his children, in December that year.
Hardwick met Crow (pictured together) while she was working for Richmond’s commercial sales team in 2020
Damien Hardwick and his ex-wife Danielle (pictured) have three children together – Isabelle, Imogen and Ben – after 25 years of marriage
Crow and Hardwick were first spotted together in January 2021.
Once Hardwick and Danielle’s split became official, she took aim at her ex, calling him and the AFL ‘selfish’.
‘It is an old school environment, there is not really any way around it,’ she said at the time.
‘Everyone is trying to evolve and that is wonderful, but it is male dominated and the life of a footballer and the life of a coach, for want of a better word, can become a very selfish existence.
‘Because it is a demanding role and you are watching over the welfare of many, many young men so it does feel very important.’
Tigers great Trent Cotchin, who guided the club to three successive premierships with Hardwick, revealed in 2023 how the new romance drove a wedge between the coach and certain parts of the club.
‘Was it a distraction for the group? In my view, at times it was,’ Cotchin wrote in his book.
‘Did it impact my relationship with Dimma? I would say yes, at that point, 100 per cent.
‘We had built this culture on a platform of family, connection and love – and Dimma and Danielle’s relationship had played a big part in all this – so it was only natural to be worried about the potential fallout’.
Cotchin said that the saga had an impact on the club’s dismal 2021 campaign, where they did not reach the finals despite winning the premiership the previous season.
‘I still loved Dimma and still respected him as a coach … but I am not sure my relationship with him ever got back to the level it had been before,’ he said.
‘For whatever reason, there always seemed to be a bit of a barrier between us. Maybe it wasn’t just the captain and the coach; maybe it was emblematic of the group’s connection that season.
‘We didn’t lose the plot in 2021 but if I reflect properly, there just wasn’t the same insane connection between the playing group that had been our suit of armour from 2017 to 2020.’
