Richmond president Peggy O'Neal grilled on Damien Hardwick's David Schwarz remarkGlenn Valencich
7News
21 August 2020 Richmond president Peggy O’Neal has refused to address the “problematic” aspect of coach Damien Hardwick targeting former Melbourne player David Schwarz.
Schwarz was among the football identities to criticise Tigers forward Tom Lynch after a spate of aggressive acts on the field drew sanctions from the AFL.
Schwarz had claimed Lynch was “not tough” and needed to “stop being a knucklehead” on the field.
A fired-up Hardwick acknowledged Lynch oversteps the mark on the field but said criticism of his character was “over the top”.
His subsequent personal attack on Schwarz, however, drew pushback from football fans who thought the coach had crossed a line.
“The reality is, these things happen from time to time but let’s not define a person’s character by that one event - let’s look at a period of work,” Hardwick said.
“For people to sit there and say he lacks courage is completely irresponsible and lacks perspective in my point of view and they really should have a good hard look at themselves.
“Because I guarantee you, there’s a few players out there making comment.
“Mainly I’m looking at David Schwarz here - I played a grand final (in 2000) against that bloke and within 20 minutes of the game he was crying - so (he should) have a look at himself at some stage.”
Schwarz later told Fox Sports said he stood by what he said about Lynch but would not take Hardwick’s comments personally.
The radio host did offer a subtle jab towards Hardwick for criticising a man’s emotions after overseeing a wellbeing-focused transformation at the Tigers.
“Apparently it matters if you cry,” Schwarz said.
Speaking to ABC radio host Virginia Trioli and AFL commentator Kelli Underwood on Friday morning, O’Neal said she had not spoken to Hardwick since his press conference.
Quizzed on Hardwick’s decision to make it personal, the president rejected opportunities to address the matter beyond a coach defending his player.
O’Neal, pushed to ponder why Hardwick raised Schwarz crying in a grand final, instead said fans were going “a little bit stir crazy” without midweek football.
Kelli Underwood: “This has been a model club the past three years but I think it’s fair to say their reputation has suffered a little bit over the past couple of weeks. Damien Hardwick he’s a good man, he’s a great leader, he’s protecting his player and he’s clearly seething at the criticism of his player.
“But he knows you’re always going to get criticised by former players in the media. People like that will always have a crack. He’s taken the bait. It’s a bit cheap at the end of the day. He was the one who made it personal, which makes it a little bit grubby in my eyes.”
Peggy O’Neal: “I haven’t spoken to him. I had lots of meetings, it was late in the day when I heard that. It certainly has created some discussion, it’s created some fodder for all the talkback radio. But he’s really seriously protective of his players. He’s great about that, it’s one of his great strengths.
“Sometimes I think it’s a bit like family, we defend them in a pretty fierce way. We can criticise them but nobody else can. I saw that David Schwarz came out and said it’s just a difference of opinion so I think we’ve stirred that pot long enough.”
Kelli Underwood: “Can I ask, you’re on the competition committee that formed a couple of years ago. I remember Steve Hocking, the had of football at the AFL, came out and said the one thing this competition committee’s really strong on is to get these cheap behind-the-play punches out of the game. What do you think of Tom Lynch doing that?”
Peggy O’Neal: “I think you’re pointing at Tom but what about all the things that happen before the ball’s bounced, the forwards standing the square when defenders come and punch around for a while? I do think the AFLPA and the players themselves have to come up with a solution.
“You can give penalties, you can give fines and then people say the fines aren’t enough. If you rub out the entire side because everyone’s doing it ... but it was something we talked about long and hard. Players have to be part of the solution. They don’t like it happening to them so they shouldn’t do it to other people.”
Virginia Trioli: “The real sting and the problematic part is not the staunch defence, Peggy - I think you’d expect that really from any coach. (It) was the way that he was prepared to go so personal with the way he turned on David Schwarz. Particularly given the work that clubs and clubs like yours and others have done to open up a degree of understanding about mental health issues and the like.
“People thought that was a bit rough - if your instinct is to go that place when you are in that position of being on the back foot and defending yourself, what that might reveal about the person. What do you think?”
Peggy O’Neal: “I think people are going ... a little bit stir crazy. I didn’t watch that (2000) grand final again, what happened there I’m not sure. It seems like it’s lingered through the years. I think we almost stalled on these kinds of issues because we’ve had three days without football. I just sort of think do we really need to focus on these incidents and somewhere buried in there is the Sir Doug Nicholls Round that’s coming up that’s just so exciting and it’s got very little air time compared to these types of conversations.
“I’m really disappointed to see that that’s where the conversation’s gone because it’s more provocative as opposed to the very positive story about celebrating Indigenous Australia and what they’ve brought to Australian Rules football. When David Schwarz says it’s a difference of opinion and he’s ready to put it aside, I think we’ve got to respect that too.”
https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-president-peggy-oneal-grilled-on-problematic-damien-hardwick-attack-c-1255952
