Financial restraints affect Tigers
The Age
September 1, 2004 - 9:01PM
Richmond will miss out on snaring the next Nick Stevens or Jade Rawlings at the AFL pre-season draft after confirming it could not afford a big-name recruit because of the club's terrible financial plight.
The Tigers have already started preparing for next season by delisting six players and culling the football department that served under ex-coach Danny Frawley.
But despite new coach Terry Wallace's plans to revamp the playing list, Richmond conceded its financial restraints means it hasn't got the cash to claim an uncontracted rival player.
The Tigers will have the No.1 pick at the pre-season draft for finishing last in 2004, but football director Greg Miller said drafting a gun recruit might be beyond them.
Richmond is expected to post a loss of at least $2 million this year.
Despite room in the salary cap, Richmond simply cannot afford to pay another high-profile player behind Nathan Brown, Matthew Richardson, Kane Johnson and Darren Gaspar.
"We're a little hamstrung in terms of the pre-season draft where we've got first choice, (because of) the financial limitations on the club at the moment, hence the ... reduction in the staff and the changes we've been forced to make," Miller told radio station SEN.
"It's purely budgetary, purely financial-wise.
"We had a very bad year marketing-wise and fundraising-wise this year."
Despite Wallace's fat contract - estimated at $2.5 million over five years - Miller said Richmond's football department expenditure would be among the bottom quarter of clubs in 2005.
"I reckon 13th, 14th, maybe 15th," he said.
"We probably deserve to be.
"We were the 16th team on the ladder, we've had a poor year marketing wise and a poor year on the field and that's the sort of thing we've got to do.
"But Terry was aware of that before he took on the role."
Stevens was picked up by Carlton once he decided not to seek a new contract at Port Adelaide.
In 2004, he enjoyed a superb season for the Blues on the ball.
Similarly, Rawlings was last year's No.1 pre-season draft pick and the Western Bulldogs were delighted to get the forward after he and Hawthorn could not agree to new terms.
Among the players that could be of contract come the pre-season draft are Brisbane ruck Clark Keating, Essendon half-forward Damian Cupido, Hawthorn's All-Australian defender Joel Smith, Port goalsneak Stuart Dew and high-flying Melbourne forward Russell Robertson.
The Tigers' cash reserves could also mean money might be a problem when it comes to retaining ruck-forward Brad Ottens, who is sure to come under pressure from both South Australian clubs to return home.
Richmond have confirmed it had delisted Bill Nicholls, Adam Houlihan, Ben Marsh, Justin Blumfield, Marc Dragicevic and Simon Fletcher.
The blood letting could continue when the trade period arrives, however the Tigers said speculation that Rory Hilton, Greg Stafford and David Rodan were also about to be cut was "incorrect and damaging to those individuals".
Richmond has already sacked Frawley's football manager Greg Hutchison and assistant coaches Wayne Brittain, Darren Crocker and Paul Spargo.
But the Tigers have signed Brian Royal, a former assistant of Wallace's at the Bulldogs, as his lieutenant at Punt Road.
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