Wood warns Richmond fans not to 'whinge' under current board in 2017Ronny Lerner
The Age
7 September 2016Prospective Richmond board member Bryan Wood has warned the club's supporters not to "whinge" and will have to "cop it" if the team has another poor season next year under the current administration.
Wood, a three-time Richmond premiership player, is part of the Focus On Footy ticket, which is calling on the incumbent board to stand down due to a prolonged lack of on-field success.
The current Richmond Football Club board has been challenged by a collection of Tigers supporters calling itself Focus on Football.
According to Wood, his rebel group has plenty of support and would be prepared to call an extraordinary general meeting to take power, despite it being an expensive undertaking.
But if they didn't get voted in, Wood said Richmond supporters should get used to more of the same poor results which dogged their 2016 campaign.
"The phone is just ridiculous ... The support has been quite amazing, I've had previous board members of Richmond Football Club ring me and say, 'I'll support if you need something done behind the scenes,' " Wood told SEN on Tuesday.
"We need the support of the 60,000 members. Some people are saying, 'Same old, same old', well if you are prepared to accept and continue with the same group, then next year, round 10 when we're 3-7, don't start jumping up and down as a supporter, don't start whinging about, 'This is crap', and, 'This is no good'.
"If you're prepared to accept that, then cop it."
Wood said he would look at trying to bring back someone like Kevin Sheedy to the club in a mentoring or advisory role if his ticket was successful.
Sheedy, who was also a triple premiership player with the Tigers, is in an ambassadorial role with the Bombers.
"That's the quality of person we would be looking for," Wood said.
"Kevin is quite ensconced and secure at Essendon, but if we can get that type of person back to Richmond to help bring about this success that we want – obviously, yes.
"Kevin is a great performer and that's why Essendon got him back there to help bring about unity at the Essendon footy club."
Wood believes the review of the Richmond football department should have happened five years ago.
"Results at Richmond have been horrendous last for the last five, eight, 10 years," Wood said.
"Finishing eighth, ninth, 12th, 14th – that's not success."
If the Focus On Footy group were successful in toppling the board, Wood would be a footy director but, in an apparent veiled swipe at the current administration, said he would happily step down if the club remained unsuccessful on-field in the years to come.
"Success, we believe, is finishing in the top four, playing in a grand final," he said.
"In nine years' time, if I'm still on the board and we're finishing 10th and 12th, you won't have to fight to get me off the board – I'll hand over the keys."
One on-field issue that baffles Wood is the absence of Jack Riewoldt from the leadership group.
"I see Jack as a major leader of the club ... there needs to be questions asked of the leadership, I think he's a natural leader," he said.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-2016-bryan-wood-warns-richmond-fans-not-to-whinge-if-tigers-struggle-under-current-board-in-2017-20160906-gr9n5r.html
