No free kicks for Richmond as it rebuilds Mark Stevens
Herald Sun
May 06, 2010 RICHMOND boss Brendon Gale has declared the club does not want pity or priority picks to help it through a painful rebuilding mission.
Gale said yesterday senior staffers, including coach Damien Hardwick, had taken full responsibility for the club's plight and were intent on doing it the hard way.
"We're not seeking any special assistance at all. We haven't and won't," Gale said.
"If we have a mantra between the senior people here, it is we take responsibility for the situation we are in right now.
"It's not about looking back, blaming people and making excuses. Once we take full responsibility, then we can take full responsibility for getting ourselves out if it."
Gale's comments came after AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou entered the debate on the Tigers' plight, raising concerns about their competitiveness and blaming past regimes for plunging the club into a black hole.
"I was quite surprised to see Andrew's comments," Gale said.
"But, clearly, he's entitled to make comments. They want a good, competitive, even competition."
"Our result on Sunday (against Geelong) was a really poor one. Our worst performance for the year," Gale said.
But despite the concern from AFL House, and critics drawing comparisons to the dying Fitzroy team of '96, Gale said he had not contemplated what it would be like to endure a winless season.
"I haven't thought about it ... you take it one week at a time," he said.
Gale made it clear the club was well placed to win its first game of the season against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.
"We've got a good chance to win this week. We're focused on winning the game," he said.
"I'm absolutely confident we will demonstrate improvement in the second half of the season, individually and collectively."
Demetriou on Monday spoke of the tough road ahead for Richmond and commented again at a business lunch yesterday.
"I'm very sympathetic to where Richmond are at the moment ... and I would be for any team that's on the bottom of the ladder, struggling to perform," Demetriou said.
"But Richmond is where it is at the moment because of decisions that have been made in the past.
"Where they are at the moment is because of whatever reasons, and I'm not close enough to the club, but that's not to say we don't want this club to succeed.
"Richmond supporters are going to have to be patient ... there's no quick fix."
The Tigers face two compromised drafts, with the entry of Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney, and have beefed up their recruiting department in a bid to uncover some lower-order gems.
Gale, who took the helm at the end of last season, is encouraged by the success of the past, even if the club played its most recent Grand Final in 1982.
"By any sort of measure we've been the leader in various times of our past," Gale said.
"That doesn't guarantee for one minute we'll get there again, but it means we have the capacity as a club.
"We were in a pretty bad position last year and it required transformational change to go forward.
"Change, more often than not, doesn't come without hardship."
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/no-free-kicks-for-richmond-as-it-rebuilds/story-e6frf9ix-1225862762088
