Tiger duo's futures unclear after bans 'tarnished' Richmond's brand
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick admits he was "incredibly disappointed" over last week's COVID-19 breaches by Sydney Stack and Callum Coleman-Jones By Callum Twomey
afl.com.au
9 September 2020UNCERTAINTY surrounds the futures of Richmond pair Sydney Stack and Callum Coleman-Jones at the club after coach Damien Hardwick stopped short of guaranteeing they will be with the Tigers next year.
The Tigers duo were booted out of Queensland after their COVID-19 protocols breach last week and suspended for 10 games each after they were involved in an incident near a Surfers Paradise strip club in the early hours of last Friday.
The indiscretion also cost the Tigers a fine of $100,000 – of which the Tigers have asked Stack and Coleman-Jones to pay $75,000. Talks continue between the club and AFL Players' Association on the paying of the fine.
Both players are signed to the club until the end of 2021, but Hardwick said decisions on their futures will be made deeper into the year.
“These two players are like family to us, so we’ll always look after them - but they’ve also got to understand the repercussions of their actions,” he said.
“Accountability and responsibility is a big one in today’s society and the players, in fairness, have accepted that.
“We’ll deal with those players. They’re Richmond people at the moment - we’ll continue to support them as best we can and continue to do what we do.”
When pressed on whether the phrase “Richmond people at the moment” indicated the careers of Stack and Coleman-Jones were in jeopardy, Hardwick said those decisions would be determined “in due course”.
Both players are contracted until the end of the 2021 season.
"That will be determined in due course from our point of view. They're very good players. We’re disappointed in the action so we don’t want to sit there and make assertions of what it’s going to look like moving forward,” Hardwick said.
“It was probably a bad choice of terminology by me, they’re Richmond men at the moment. I shouldn’t say at the moment. They’re Richmond men. So look, we’ll support them as best we can.”
Hardwick said he was "incredibly disappointed" when he found out about the breaches early last Friday morning and that it had blemished Richmond's image.
"Respect is very hard to earn but it's easy to lose, and we've probably lost a bit at the moment. We understand that, but the important thing for us is that we have to continue to rebuild our reputation," he said.
"It's been tarnished, there's no doubt about that. But it's our job as an organisation to stand forward and continue to put our best foot forward and move in the right direction."
The off-field controversy has taken the spotlight off Richmond's huge contest with Geelong on Friday night at Metricon Stadium, in what is an ultra-important game in both clubs' bids for top-four spots.
But Hardwick, who said he had last spoken with the suspended pair on Monday, didn't believe the distraction would have an impact on the game.
"I wouldn't think so. The proof will be in the pudding. We've addressed it internally. The guys are incredibly disappointed and have brought the whole club into a situation we didn't want to be in," he said.
"The reality is we've found ourselves here and we have to continue to move forward. It's disappointing, we feel it's not reflective of us as a group."
Sources: AFL.com.au &
7News
