THE FORMER RICHMOND CAPTAIN ON THE WRONG SIDE OF 12TH TIGERS FLAG
BY ANDREW SLEVISON
For every person who grew up a fanatic Tiger and endured the struggles of the past three decades, the 2019 Grand Final would have undoubtedly been an unforgettable day.
All the years of ridicule and frustration had come to a halt two years earlier with the 2017 premiership which prompted a flood of emotions to wash away one of footy’s most disparaged droughts.
But the Saturday on September 28, 2019 was the crowning moment. A celebration of chaos and control. Much like the way Damien Hardwick’s side plays.
For the yellow and black hardcore who had been through all the heartache and pain, it was another step towards redemption, or perhaps it was vindication. Vindication for sticking fat and staying loyal.
Anyone who had been experienced the lean years, sprinkled with just a handful of finals appearances, would have been coarsely cheering every Cotch tackle, every Dusty ‘don’t argue’, every Riewoldt knock on, every Lynch clunk, every Grimes spoil, every Prestia handball, even the Pickett pirouette.
There were jubilant scenes all around the MCG and throughout Melbourne but none of that unbridled joy would spread to one former club captain.
You see, Wayne Campbell had spent the best part of 15 years doing everything in his power to make the Richmond Football Club great again.
And on that one day in September, Campbell somewhat missed out on the spoils. He was, of course, in the GWS camp as the expansion club’s footy boss.
Despite all the blood, sweat and tears he poured into the foundation at Punt Road, he wasn’t even thinking about a 12th premiership.
“There was not one per cent of me that didn’t want the Giants to win,” Campbell told SEN.com.au.
“I think because people relate you to Richmond strongly, they feel like there’s something there.
“The amount of people that said to me in the lead up that I really can’t lose I think was surprising. But maybe that’s the first thing that comes to their mind because, and this could sound harsh, but I had no emotional attachment to Richmond while I was at the Giants.
“I had an enormous family and emotional investment in the Giants and you want to win. It was this curious backdrop that it was Richmond but I really didn’t give it any thought at the time.
“There was the fun of Grand Final week and all of the stuff that goes with that and just trying to get your club to win.
“The fact that it was Richmond was almost irrelevant.”
That’s not to say that after all is said and done the 297-game Tiger doesn’t feel something for the yellow and black.
Campbell did spend much of his playing career from 1991 to 2005 alongside ‘The Chief’ Brendon Gale (club CEO) and much-loved media personality Matthew Richardson who were both visibly emotional when the 37-year drought was broken in 2017.
Two years later and it may not have gone to plan for those in the orange corner for the second time in three years but there still remains some semblance of fondness towards the yellow and black.
“There’s a great degree of satisfaction in Brendon being involved and Matthew still there as well,” added Campbell, who also spent a handful of years working at Richmond in development and strategy.
“In some ways the ‘17 one was more interesting.
“To see Brendon cry in the last quarter and Richo and all my ex-teammates, I didn’t feel the same part of that because we’d been beaten by them the week before (in the Preliminary Final).
“That was in some ways harder because it was their first win (in some time).”
Then there was also the case of Brett Deledio. After 243 games with Richmond he made the unenviable decision to depart for GWS in 2016.
Now talk about a curious backdrop.
“It’s an intriguing, fascinating, sad and happy story,” Campbell said of ‘Lids’.
“To put the amount of work that he did into Richmond… Did something need to change? Well, it probably did.
“Would he regret coming? Well, he got to experience a different club and it’s not like we were unsuccessful. We played in three finals series in a row and a Grand Final, but he was injured a bit of that. Then his former club goes and wins two flags.
“It’s not life and death. He’s been through that with his family.
“But to coincide that with the shift of his sporting career as well, you couldn’t have written a script like that when he first came up.”
The ever increasing competitive and fast moving nature of the AFL landscape means allegiances for a large number of people in the football industry will lie in more than one place. Just as it would for Deledio.
That is no doubt the case for Campbell as well but the professionalism he has carried throughout his entire football career and life, whether it be as a player, umpires boss or club administrator, certainly did not evade him on Grand Final day last year.
He added further: “Do I have an interest in Richmond? Absolutely.
“When the Giants didn’t play Richmond I would keep an eye on Richmond and I would want them to do well. But on Grand Final day there was nothing but want for the Giants to win, so it ended up not being a great day.
“Subsequently, am I happier that Richmond won as opposed to Collingwood? Well, yeah, probably,” he laughed.
“But you certainly don’t feel that at the time.”
The 15 seasons of putting the boots on, donning the jumper and crossing the white line allowed Campbell to experience two trips to Preliminary Finals but could it have been a different story in terms of success at Tigerland?
“The bit that frustrates you is you weren’t involved in a club that had the degree of stability that Richmond now has,” he surmised.
“That’s why I admire what Brendon and Peggy (O’Neal) and Balmey (Neil Balme) and Damien have been able to do. To stay the course and to have good people there to challenge each other and play their roles really well.
“Kudos to them for going through the review that they did in 2016 and coming out with the right answers, clearly.”
What is now merely an interest was once much more for the man who won four Jack Dyer Medals. His time at the club, particularly his days as skipper, had a lasting impact.
Tigers legend and fellow former captain Dale ‘Flea’ Weightman recalled a symbol created by Campbell which lives on today.
“He was always meticulous in what he did,” Weightman said.
“Preparation before, during and after, he was one of those guys that got the most out of himself. And he was always very inclusive of his teammates.
“He wanted to recognise all the players. When he was captain, he said we should have something to immortalise the people that have played for the Richmond Football Club.
“That’s almost 1200 people.
“So he got Richmond ties made, embroidered with what number you were when you debuted.
“Everyone’s got one and that was his idea.”
And on the subject of legacies, what type did Campbell leave, if any, at GWS?
“I played one small part. Footy clubs have many moving parts,” he said of the ninth-season outfit.
“A club puts a team out on the ground and allows them to perform. A club develops players and markets itself the right way so I was one very small part of that.
“The club has achieved a fair bit in its short period of time, whether that’s over all of the years or the last four years when they’ve played finals.
“They’ve done a good job.”
For the Tigers and Giants of today, they will resume hostilities in the Grand Final rematch this Friday night and there will certainly be plenty of intrigue surrounding a key fixture in what is a very curious season indeed.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/07/22/the-former-richmond-captain-on-the-wrong-side-of-12th-tigers-flag/
