A high-profile player management group has been forced to issue a warning to clients and staff after one of its agents had her email account hacked.

Connors Sports Management alerted the public to the problem via social media, with the issue potentially affecting well-known AFL footballers and coaches.

The account that was hacked belonged to Isabelle Hardwick, the daughter of Gold Coast coach and premiership mastermind Damien Hardwick.

“Please do not open any emails from Isabelle Hardwick,” the warning said.

“Her email has been temporarily suspended #hacked.”

Isabelle Hardwick is an accredited agent and works alongside high-profile agents such as Paul Connors, Robbie D’Orazio and Nick Gieschen.

The hack comes at an interesting time for the Hardwicks, with Damien sparking controversy over his curious take on Noah Balta’s sanction and Victoria’s premier Jacinta Allan.

Hardwick said he wanted Allan to be tougher on crime, yet at the same time was seemingly miffed about her comments on Balta.

“All I want it to be is really hard on crime,” the Suns coach said in a response to a question from an ABC journalist.

“Less talk, more action (from) magistrates, premiers, less talking, less chest beating, more getting to work and getting it done.

“We as tax-payers demand it, you as a tax-payer funded organisation, ABC, should be demanding more of it.”

Fans quickly called out the hypocrisy due to the fact that Allan had been simply responding to a question about the Balta assault, and called for a tough penalty.

Many commentators and people within the community feel that Richmond, and the AFL, were soft on Balta, and that his club ban of four home and away games was way too lenient.

Insiders, as well as Balta’s former teammate Jack Riewoldt, also found it strange that Richmond played Balta last week before he was sentenced.

“Hard on crime but not jail for Balta?” one puzzled fan noted on social media, response to Hardwick’s comments.

And another said: “Lol ... he does know the bloke he’s defending was the one committing crimes? How the heck does this make any sense.”

A high-profile barrister told this journalist that the Balta sentence was “lenient” but the curfew was a nice attempt to give the penalty “some punch”.

A long-time criminal lawyer also noted that it was rare to attach a curfew to a corrections order, but thought it was an “ingenious” way to have him banned for more games.

Veteran AFL journalist Caroline Wilson said on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters that the curfew was a “bombshell” but believed Richmond had been “flaunting” Balta ahead of the sentence.

“Magistrate Melissa Humphreys shocked everyone including Noah Balta and the Richmond Football Club,” she said.

“The AFL didn’t say it was shocked, but I think they were when they realised that the curfew was going to be part of the penalty.”