Richmond Tigers a big hit at Wonthaggi training campMichael Giles
Sentinel-Times (covering South Gippsland & Bass Coast)
Dec 06 2023IN THE ultimate early Christmas present for Richmond Tigers fans in Bass Coast and South Gippsland, the whole playing group turned out at a full-contact training camp at Wonthaggi on Wednesday this week.
And didn’t the fans, young and old love it.
CEO of the Richmond Football Club Brendan Gale was full of praise for the way the Wonthaggi Football Netball Club and the local shire, the Bass Coast Shire Council had presented the ground.
“The oval is outstanding. As good as you’d find anywhere. You could putt on this surface,” said Brendan Gale.
“It’s the ideal place to have a training camp. You’ve got the beach right here and a fantastic oval to train on. We’re just delighted to be here and it’s great yeah.
“And great to see such a big crowd of supporters and all the kids. Aren’t they supposed to be in school today,” he said with a laugh.
“The club and the community have been very welcoming and it’s great to be able to get out here into the country and meet some of our regional fans,” he said.
New General Manager of the Wonthaggi FNC Brendan Knight was just as pleased, especially as Wonthaggi was hosting his own AFL club.
“Of course I’m a bit biased but it’s great to be hosting one of the big Melbourne clubs, Richmond, Collingwood, Carlton or Essendon,” said Brendan.
“We heard that they were coming a couple of weeks ago and I’m not surprised such a big crowd has come out.
“The ground is probably as good as it can be right now, with that bit of rain we had last week and the weather perfect today.
“We’ve had some terrific feedback from the Richmond officials. They couldn’t be happier with the ground, the gym and the other facilities.
Of course, our facilities do need to be upgraded, especially for women’s football. There’s are things that we’ll be working on in the coming year.
“But as disappointed as we were losing the grand final, we also see it as another step forward and that’s the way we have been approaching it with Jarryd over the past three years.
“As long as we keep improving and keep presenting we’ll get there,” he said.
A group of students from the Bass Coast Specialist School enjoyed a nice moment with the players during the session. Premiership hero Nick Vlastuin and some of his teammates noticed the group with their bus, parked on the scoreboard side of the oval and went across and chatted with them for 10 minutes, taking selfies and signing autographs.
https://www.sgst.com.au/news/richmond-tigers-a-big-hit-at-wonthaggi-training-camp
