Wallace makes a Tiger plea
12:20:33 PM Wed 16 March, 2005
Paul Gough
Sportal for afl.com.au
Richmond coach Terry Wallace says it is enough to have the great Tigers of old "turning in their graves" and admits it is time for the club's fans to show the passion they are renowned for.
Wallace was referring to the alarming drop in support for a club long regarded as one of the "big four" in Melbourne.
"There were 10 clubs that had over 30,000 members last year and we were not one of them. That would make Richmond people of old turn in their graves," Wallace said in an appeal to Tigers’ fans.
Up until now Wallace had been hoping the excitement generated by his arrival and that of top draftees Brett Deledio and Richard Tambling plus experienced recruits Troy Simmonds, Mark Graham and Trent Knobel would be enough to generate a rush of new members for the Tigers.
Yet the Tigers membership is still only around the 21,000 mark - roughly the same as this time last year - and some 8800 members have not renewed since last year.
Wallace knows this is due to the club finishing on the bottom last season as he realises many Richmond fans - who have seen their team make the finals just twice since 1982 - have begun to give up on their club.
However Wallace said the Tigers' position today was no different to that of Essendon when Kevin Sheedy took over as coach in 1981.
At that stage Essendon fans could hardly have dreamt their club would become the biggest in Victoria over the next two decades with the club having tasted finals action only three times in the 1970's since their last premiership in 1965.
But Sheedy immediately steered the Bombers into the finals in his first six years in charge, leading them to the 1984-85 premierships, and the club has never looked back since.
"It's not as if our supporters are gone, they are just lying dormant like this footy club has been," Wallace said in a passionate appeal to his club's fans.
Wallace said research showed Richmond had more than 400,000 supporters Australia-wide - amongst the most in the competition - yet was still struggling to boost its membership.
"Unless you become a 30,000 plus membership club, you have no hopes of sustained success in this competition," Wallace said.
"Yet we can't turn 10 per cent of our supporters into members."
Wallace said those lapsed Richmond members should realise that the Tigers are already a different team from the one which lost its last 14 games last season.
"First I would like to say (to those lapsed members) have you been down to the club and seen the manner in which the side has trained the last five months or been to the last three practice matches (which the Tigers have won)."
"So I ask those 8800 (lapsed) members to give us a chance and see whether we can change things around for you."
http://richmondfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=190402
