Brendon Gale on SEN 7-12-2020

[one-eyed]

Coming up after the break.

[one-eyed]

Summary

* Been surfing at Urban Surf. Did two hours of it and cramped up lol.

* Got a sense early on this year and it was catastrophic. We are a club that relies on attendances and that was gone. So it was bleak. What you can't budget for is a premiership which gives you a sugar hit. Early on it looked like we would make a $5-8 million loss. In the end, we were able to make a wafer thin profit.

* Not worried about a "lack of challenge" given we've won 3 flags in 4 years. It was a long time between drinks for the Tigers. We've climbed the summit and we like the view. In this game they are continually coming for you so there's no time for complacency. You need to continually improve.

* Spoke about the Club's donation to the Alannah & Madeline Foundation. Small percentage of our retail and memorabilia sales goes to the AMF. It didn't look like we were going to be able to make a donation this year but the premiership and the boost from it in sales from our supporters has made it possible.

* We're a powerful institution. We are given a platform to shine a light on issues and educate. It comes with a huge responsibility though.

* Stack & CCJ joined our 1-4 year players for training today. They've been held accountable for their mistakes and paid a heavy price (also potentially missed out on playing in a premiership). They are our men. We'll support them and help them earn back that respect.

* Doesn't get involved in the draft. Much smarter people than him with that side of things. Credited Blair Hartley as well as Francis Jackson for his past efforts in building our current list.

* Looking forward to drafting Maurice Rioli jnr. Hard to know where he will go in the draft and if there will be a bid on him. He's got some wonderful traits but he's also got a fair bit of work to do. Spoke about the plover attack and how coming from Tassie he's well aware of their attacking nature.

* We had to cut our footy department by 36%. So we had to let Leppa go. You can't replace a guy like Leppa. Hopefully he isn't lost to footy forever.

* We can't do everything we want given the 36% cut but we'll focus on our AFLW and AFL teams to create an elite environment for them.

[mightytiges]

Early on it looked like we would make a $5-8 million loss. In the end, we were able to make a wafer thin profit.

Bold bit  .

Thank gawd for the premiership. Still not out of the woods given it will likely take all next year to fully distribute the vaccine. So 2021 will be affected as well in terms of limited crowds.

We had to cut our footy department by 36%.

Yikes! That's a massive hit . More than every third employee gonski.

Got to feel for all those that lost their job including Leppa through no fault of their own .

[one-eyed]

Here's the audio for those that missed Gale's interview:

Listen to Benny here: https://player.whooshkaa.com/episode?id=766835

[camboon]

Surely Leppa wasn’t forced out, others should have been lower in the pecking order imho
Gave the hard love when needed

[Tiger Khosh]

Surely Leppa wasn’t forced out, others should have been lower in the pecking order imho
Gave the hard love when needed

Yeah I had to read that twice to make sure I was reading it correctly. Pretty sure when they announced it they said he decided to take a break from footy. Does that mean they also let McRae go or did he get poached by the hawks?

[WilliamPowell]

Surely Leppa wasn’t forced out, others should have been lower in the pecking order imho
Gave the hard love when needed

Yeah I had to read that twice to make sure I was reading it correctly. Pretty sure when they announced it they said he decided to take a break from footy. Does that mean they also let McRae go or did he get poached by the hawks?

Every club had to make cuts on their Footy Departments. They had to wipe 36% of spend that equals people being let go

Has anyone considered that perhaps rather than the club making the call on who that Leppa put his hand up and said "I'll go"... think it is highly likely that is what happened here especially in he was coming out of contract

Ditto McRae, though reckon there was a fair bit of coaching in that one

[The Mole]

Just on leppa, he lives around my area, one of his mates i know told me his daughters  have never really settled in victoria so its a family decision.... he did go on to say it wouldnt suprise if one day he ends up and a qld club poss gc

[one-eyed]

THE CHALLENGES RICHMOND WILL FACE IN 2021

By Andrew Slevison
SEN
8 December 2020

Brendon Gale is expecting the rest of the competition to come at Richmond next season.

The Tigers remarkably pulled off a third premiership in four years by claiming the 2020 flag against all odds after spending over 100 days in a hub on the Gold Coast.

While they were not the only club to be in such a situation, they were indeed the only club left standing after beating Geelong in the first night Grand Final at the Gabba in late October.

With that 13th trophy now safely locked away at Punt Road, the Tigers look ahead to 2021 where a third straight premiership beckons, but not without the desire to keep improving and to continue breeding a winning culture.

Asked on SEN’s Bob and Andy if there is a lack of a challenge for Richmond heading into a new year, club CEO Gale said: “No, not at all.”

“It’s been a long time between drinks for the Tigers. We’ve climbed the top of the mountain, but we’re enjoying the view.

“But also, the system, or the AFL community, almost breeds this inherent sense of insecurity. They’re just always coming at you from everywhere.

“You’ve got to be at the top of your game, you’ve got to be sharpening the saw, you’ve got to be finding ways to improve and compete in what is a continuous, infinite game.

“We’ll be as focused, determined and as hungry as ever, because if not, they’re coming for us.”

One way of improving is by selecting quality youngsters in the National Draft, which takes place this Wednesday night.

Gale says as the club’s CEO, he is not privy to too many discussions on draft plans, leaving that side of things to the recruiting department.

“There’s people much more intelligent than me in those matters,” he added.

“Blair Hartley and his team, Francis Jackson a few years ago. It just highlights the importance of those roles.

“They’ve got their fingerprints all over the last three premierships. They’ll put in the time and effort and the preparation, they’ll make some good decisions.

“We’ve got young Maurice Rioli Junior, who has nominated as a father-son selection, so that will be interesting to see how that falls.”

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/12/07/the-challenges-richmond-will-face-in-2021/