2011 PRESIDENT’S REPORTIn the second year of the Richmond Football Club‟s “Winning Together” strategic plan, I‟m pleased to report that further solid gains were made . . .
On-field, we saw Damien Hardwick‟s young team make steady progress, winning two and a half more games than in 2010, and playing some good football at various stages throughout the season.
The fact that the top five placegetters in the 2011 Jack Dyer Medal – Cotchin, Deledio, Martin, Houli and Vickery – were all aged 24 years or under, augurs well for the team‟s future.
Over the past two seasons, one of the key aims, from a football perspective, has been getting 500 games into our players aged under 22.
Having accomplished this, the on-field focus in 2012 will switch to greater consistency of performance and further all-round improvement.
Our young players have had a fair taste of what‟s required to succeed at the game‟s highest level, so we are all now expecting them to take a significant step forward in 2012.
Off-field, we are continuing to make solid progress in line with the targets we have set ourselves as a club . . .
We recorded an operating profit for the year of $51,000, which excluded fundraising, gaming and government grants, and managed to reduce our debt by $1 million, due to the excellent support we received through the Fighting Tiger Fund.
While the profit figure may seem small, it comes on the back of significant increases in expenditure in both football and administration, to ensure we have the best available team to deliver on our strategic plan goals.
I commend Brendon Gale and his team on achieving another operating profit in a difficult market, especially considering how few clubs in the competition recorded a true operating profit.
The Fighting Tiger Fund, which we launched early in the year, was a crucial factor for us, and will continue to be so in 2012. As we have stated from the outset, the aim of the FTF is for us to simultaneously reduce debt and invest in football. In its inaugural year, not only has the FTF enabled us to wipe a decent chunk off our debt, but we now have secured sufficient funds to proceed with the full upgrade of the Punt Road Oval surface.
This is a crucial factor in the football department‟s future planning and will deliver us a superb surface for the players to train on all year round. We received approximately $2 million of the $3million pledged in 2011 and we hope that 2012 will result in at least another $2million of funds coming through the FTF, which will be used equally for debt reduction and increased football expenditure.
It is important for our members to understand we are well on track with our "Winning Together‟ strategic plan. We expect further significant reductions in our debt next year, and we have already further bolstered our football spend for 2012.
This is not about us being a competitive club – this is about us being a great club again. We took some important steps forward in 2011, on the back of the FTF, and anticipate making some serious inroads next year, with the exciting fundraising initiatives we have planned, plus the continued strong backing of our members and supporters.
The completion of the ME Bank Centre redevelopment early in the year was another key highlight for the Club. Our players and staff now have a superb, modern environment to work in, which is a major benefit as they strive to help Richmond achieve the sustained success we all crave. The state-of-the-art training facility provides our players with the best opportunity to prepare for the rigours of AFL football.
AppreciationIn closing, I would like to extend sincere thanks to the following organisations, groups and individuals for their wonderful support of the Club throughout 2011 . . .
Our new co-major partners: Chrysler Jeep Australia and Bingle.com.au.
Our naming rights partner: ME Bank.
The Club‟s Gold and Platinum partners: Harvey Norman, KooGa, Lite „n‟ Easy, HOSTPLUS, Signet, Australian Power & Gas, Coca-Cola, Luxbet.com, the Herald and Weekly Times.
Official providers: Peter Lehmann Wines, Club Warehouse, JR/Group, Musashi, Beiersdorf, XBlades, Brooks, Skins.
Community Sponsors: Dick Smith and Tabcorp.
The members of Jack‟s Club, Legends Club, Richmond Executive and our player sponsors.
The Tommy Hafey Club, Tiger Lilies, the Former Players and Officials Association, the RFC Historical Group, our many country supporter groups and Club 80.
Our passionate, loud and proud Cheer Squad.
My fellow Board members, along with the Club‟s managers, coaches, players and staff.
All our volunteers and helpers behind the scenes.
Finally, but most importantly, to each Richmond member, thanks for your fabulous commitment to the Club.
I wish you, and all your families, a very happy festive season, and look forward to seeing you – and hearing that mighty Tiger roar – at our games throughout the 2012 season.
Gary March
President
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/portals/0/richmond_docs/2011%20presidents%20report.pdf
