Cousins announced his retirement on Tuesday morning before one of the biggest media conferences in recent football history, saying he knew the time was right.
Cousins is set to take his games tally to 270 before his career ends, saying a corked thigh from the weekend wouldn’t keep him out of the side.
He played 238 games for West Coast, including the 2006 premiership, and has played 30 for the Tigers in his two seasons at Punt Rd.
Hardwick not only gave the 32-year-old’s current football a tick, but he also gave a glowing personal reference.
“From a coaching perspective we would have liked him to stay another year,” Hardwick said.
“It’s very hard to replace players of Ben’s calibre, but from a personal point of view, I can understand what he’s feeling.
“I reckon Ben Cousins the person, in my books and I think in a lot of people’s books, has come out looking outstanding in this.
“The Richmond Football Club opened its doors to Ben, and the Richmond Football Club is better as a whole for having Ben through our environment.
“It’s disappointing, but we can see why Ben came to the decision.”
When asked if he would like the Brownlow medallist to remain at Richmond in some capacity, perhaps as an assistant coach - Cousins interjecting with a laugh: “I’d be good with the video work, I reckon”, a reference to his upcoming documentary - Hardwick said he had already brought an enormous amount to the club in his time there.
“We’ve still got two games to go; we’ll sit down, but the world’s Ben’s oyster, to be honest - I think he’ll be outstanding whatever he does.
“He’s shown the guys within our footy club how to prepare, how to commit to something, and in essence, I know we haven’t won a lot of games, but he’s brought that winning element to our footy club.
“So whichever way he goes, he’s going to be winning in whatever he does.”
But Hardwick was in no doubt as to his evaluation of Cousins the player.
“He came in a star at the age of 18, and he’s going to leave a star at the age of 32.”
