Tigers Daring to Win (afl)

[one-eyed]

Daring to win
By Peter Ryan
Thu 17 Mar, 2011


THE TIGERS have laid their cards on the table.

They have set themselves a big, hairy audacious goal this decade: three finals series, having zero debt and 75,000 members by 2014.

They expect at least one top four finish in the next four seasons.

These are the signposts the club has developed on the way to the club's next premiership, its 11th.

The vision is three premierships by 2020.

Now the executive is asking supporters to dig deeper to get them there.

The Tigers need money because their research indicates that unless you have the dollars to invest in the football department you will never be in contention. With capital you can live or die by your decisions. Without it you can only hope and pray and wonder.

They are chasing $6 million through the Fighting Tiger Fund.

It's a big call particularly from a club that has shown so little since 1982, a club that has been strangled by debt and division and poor decision-making.

Their supporters' despair is deep. Many feel that they have seen it all before.

Their question is legitimate: Why is Brendon Gale's vision any different to what we have heard in the past?

That's why the feature article examining Richmond's past and its vision for the future was necessary.

While writing the piece I spoke to many people who have contributed to Richmond in both their golden and gloom years. Most wanted to remain in the background, some were reluctant to talk, others were capable of articulating their thoughts openly.

There were several people contacted who just preferred to let sleeping dogs lie.

I could understand and empathise with the silent types' position too because I knew the men being asked to rake over the smouldering coals were mostly good men, men with integrity who risked "head and shin" to lend their expertise to make the club better and failed to do so. (on-field, in the ways we can see, at least).

Many were let down badly by things out of their control. Unless you walk in their shoes you can't imagine how much those memories hurt.

However after hearing a range of assessments from respected football people there was a real sense that the club was uniting behind Gale.

Even those who did not want to talk explained they were unwilling to do so because they did not want to make the executive's job any harder. No upsetting of the applecart.

They know that tasks Gary March, Gale and Damien Hardwick and the administration have taken to reposition the Tigers DNA is huge and brave.

This administration deserves time. It deserves respect. It deserves a chance to implement their plan.

However with the call to arms being made the onus is now on them to deliver. They have bitten off a lot and are chewing like mad.

Everyone at the club understands that. This is an administration daring to win.
The onus is now on us watchers to keep assessing the progress that is being made at Punt Road, realistically, fairly, with rigour.

With that onus comes a responsibility to ensure the commentary examines the present, understanding what the club is attempting now without falling for the clichés or despair that have bedevilled the club in the past.

Richmond, as ever, is a club worth watching.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/109397/default.aspx