Tigers board under attackJON PIERIK
May 9, 2010GROWING disenchantment among former Richmond greats and key supporters threatens to topple the leadership of the Tigers' president, Gary March.
Former Tigers hard man and powerbroker Mal Brown has revealed there is major frustration with the club's board as the Tigers, 16th and winless this season, take on Adelaide, 15th and also without a win, at AAMI Stadium today.
''People reckon it's time to challenge Gary, but who that person may be, I have no idea,'' Brown said.
''That's what I have been told. They don't think he has done anything. I think it is as simple as that. In his reign there, what has he done?''
The Sunday Age can also reveal a former Tiger champion was approached six weeks ago seeking his interest in forming a rival ticket.
''I just can't afford to have my name made public,'' the ex-player said when contacted yesterday.
A Sunday Age investigation has found there is strong support for new chief executive Brendon Gale and coach Damien Hardwick, but all want March, president since 2005 and on the board since 2002, to depart.
Millionaire businessman Trevor Barrot, part of the rival 2004 ticket under Charles Macek that failed to dislodge then president Clinton Casey, said he held grave concerns about the club's finances.
''Our gaming at the Royal Oak, which I think is now public knowledge, we've lost, and our gaming at the Wantirna Club is a lemon,'' he said. ''It's not returning what it needs to return, but I don't think we're on our own in those decisions - there's a few clubs that have been bitten on the bum.''
Barrot, part of a small advisory group of businessmen that provides financial advice to the Tigers, said an Eddie McGuire-type leader was required to lift a club he claimed ''was even beyond the Fitzroy days''.
''The people that have been there for a long time surely should look in the mirror and say, 'Well, we really haven't done the right thing by the club','' he said.
''There's a lot of egos there that shouldn't be there and they are doing it for that reason.
''There are people that have brought the club to its knees. Those people that are involved in those decisions, if they were in the corporate world, they would have been sacked and put out to pasture years and years ago.
''It's not sour grapes by me - it's fact.
''I really worry about where the corporate buck is going to come from. People like winners.''
March has said he has no intention of stepping down when his term expires at the end of the year.
He told The Age late last year that succession possibilities ''may well include myself''.
Under March, who was handed power when Casey resigned, the Tigers have boosted coaching and recruitment staff while membership this year is strong at more than 40,000. While healthy profits have been posted, the club still remains $4 million in debt - a source of concern for March's potential challengers.
On field during March's reign, the Tigers have won just 30 of 94 matches.
Former champion centreman Geoff Raines, the best-and-fairest winner in the Tigers' last premiership year of 1980, said the time had come for change at a club that has appeared in the finals only three times since that famous win - the last being in 2001.
''There seems to be a lot of blame out there that is being [directed] at past coaches and football directors and managers, but I would have thought it would have started at the top,'' he said.
''They [the board] seem to still be there and everyone else has been pushed aside.''
Raines' son, Andrew, left Punt Road in frustration last year and has resurrected his career at the Brisbane Lions.
In the wake of Richmond's 108-point pounding by Geelong last week, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou also voiced his concerns about the Tigers' inability to play competitive football this season and the heartache that lay ahead.
Gale responded by going on the front foot during the week, attempting to appease growing supporter concerns by declaring the Tigers had committed to a long-term rebuilding program and had no choice but to deal with a compromised national draft over the next two years.
THE RICHMOND BOARDGary March: Businessman, appointed to the board in 2002. President since November 2005.
Maurice O'Shannassy: Director, Black Rock Investment Management. Vice-president since December 2004. Garry Cameron: Company director. Treasurer, appointed to board December 1999.
Don Lord: Company director. Appointed October 2001.
John Matthies: Senior partner, law firm. Appointed January 2004.
Robert Dalton: Senior partner, Ernst & Young. Appointed November 2004.
Peggy Haines: Partner at Freehills. Appointed November 2005.
Tony Free: Former Richmond captain. Appointed June 2008.
Rex Chadwick: Director, Chadwick Merchandising. Appointed December 2009.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tigers-board-under-attack-20100508-ukyi.html
