Gold Coast Suns coach Damien Hardwick calls on Victoria’s premier Jacinta Allan to be ‘tough on crime’

Gold Coast Suns coach Damien Hardwick has continued his attack on Victoria’s premier Jacinta Allan, insisting that she be “tough on crime”. Following the Suns’ 11-point weekend loss to Richmond, Hardwick took a swipe at Allan for putting “her nose in someone else’s business” for being critical of the AFL and the Tigers for allowing Noah Balta to play after pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and awaiting his punishment, which could have been up to five years in jail. Balta was on Tuesday fined $3000 and slapped with an 18-month community correction order with a 10pm to 6am curfew. A conviction was also recorded. “She should just concentrate on getting the state running well,” former Richmond coach Hardwick said on Saturday. “(It’s an) absolute mockery her making comments with regard to that.” Hardwick again took aim at Allan, and other politicians, when asked at his weekly press conference on Wednesday why he objected to Allan’s comments. “It’s more just I want her to be tough on crime,” he said. “Noah got his fair whack, he made a really poor decision. He understood that and he knows that. “What we need to do in society is be harsh on crime. I still stand by that and I always will. It’s accountability and its responsibility. “I’m really hard on crime, and that’s exactly what I want our premiers, and our political parties to do. “Less talk, more action ... magistrates, premiers, less talking, less chest beating, more getting to work and getting it done.” “We as taxpayers demand it, you as a taxpayers’ funded organisation, the ABC, should be demanding more of it – less questioning me, more questioning premiers.”