Judge was appointed senior coach of Hawthorn from 1996 until 1999, finishing 8th and therefore reaching the finals in his first year. However, in the following years Hawthorn struggled and finished 15th in the 1997 season and 13th in the 1998 season before just missing out of the finals in 1999, finishing 9th. Judge then resigned as Hawthorn senior coach, with a year to run on his contract. Judge was then replaced by Peter Schwab as Hawthorn Football Club senior coach.
