Richmond board to consider new contract for Hardwick early next yearDate: December 1, 2015 - 7:40PM
Michael Gleeson
Sports Writer for The Age
The Richmond board will consider a new contract for coach Damien Hardwick early in the new year, with the Tigers coach appearing likely to be re-signed, potentially before round one.
Tigers president Peggy O'Neal said nothing should be read into the fact Hardwick's contract had yet to be extended, saying she felt he had "done a great job".
"I would expect we would be at least starting to consider a proposal from the executive at the start of next year. We think he has done a great job and there has been a lot of improvement in the team under him.
"We have not discussed it as a board yet but I think we would consider it early next year. Damien's contract has not come to the board yet but we have re-signed him twice and we are following the same process as in the past," O'Neal said.
Asked if she thought he would be re-signed before the start of the season, O'Neal said: "I would not predict that, but I would not predict that that would not happen either."
With North Melbourne in the past week re-committing to coach Brad Scott and West Coast renewing Adam Simpson's contract, Hardwick is one of four coaches – Alastair Clarkson, Nathan Buckley and Justin Leppitsch are the others – out of contract at the end of next season.
It is expected that conversations on Hardwick's contract would start at Richmond's first board meeting next year, in February.
In a broad interview, O'Neal also said she favoured the two incumbent board members who are up for re-election being returned to the board.
And she said the club would consider options next year for further re-developing its Punt Road home and would examine where the club could expand as it had already outgrown its existing facilities.
Next season will be Hardwick's seventh in charge. He has taken the club from 15th to playing finals in the past three years, albeit without winning a final.
O'Neal also said she wanted to maintain the make-up of the current board at the election and encouraged members to vote before Friday's deadline.
Property developer Joe Russo and Jason Dowd, who founded and runs the Mitch Dowd underwear brand, are challenging board members Rex Chadwick and vice-president Maurice O'Shannassy, whose terms were up and who are seeking re-election.
"It's been a really well-functioning board that has come a long way in the 10 years since I joined," O'Neal said. "We have renewed the board – John O'Rourke is joining the board (filling a casual vacancy from Carl Walsh's resignation), Kerry Ryan has only been there two years, Mal Speed four years and Brendon Gale will be joining the board from the AGM (as executive director), so I think we have continued to renew the board.
"The two people up for re-election have been important in the rebuilding we have undertaken and the progress we have made. Personally I would like to continue to work with those I know best.
"It's nothing against the two people who are running, but we think we have done a good job and achieved good results."
O'Neal said that while the club accepted the democratic process, the club had sought to act like a commercial board and recruit board members who filled a skills deficiency where one was identified.
Richmond's last bold plan under former president Gary March – launched at the end of 2010 after Gale was appointed – was dubbed 3-0-75 and aimed for the club to play in three finals series, have zero debt and 75,000 members within five years ... and to win three flags within 10 years.
The three premierships might prove overly ambitious in the next five years, but the Tigers broke 70,000 members this year, have cleared their debt and played three finals in the past six years, not five.
O'Neal said the next phase of planning was focused on a range of less eye-catching administrative matters but central to them was examining what to do about the fact the club was outgrowing its Punt Road home.
"We will always be at Punt Road, but it is five years since we finished the work here and you look at Hawthorn and Fremantle and what they are doing with new facilities ... and we are running out of space for the administration, and football always wants more space.
"So we will look at all our options: how much more can we do there with what we have at Punt Road? We will have people examine what is feasible.
"We are part of Yarra Park and the MCC is our landlord, so we will have discussions with them and see how best we can use the space we have."
She said other options for expanding to nearby facilities would also be examined.
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