Summary:* Post-Covid era?It's not over. Still in it. Collegiate response required again this year. Things are changing by the day. Exciting that the footy is soon restarting but in terms of the broader club we are still following restrictions, working from home, fragmented, etc. Getting on with the footy but still dealing with broader club issues.
* When will the club unfurl both our flags?We're hopeful of 50% capacity in round 1 but we don't/won't know yet. We want as many supporters as possible to see us unfurl our flags. 25k wouldn't be enough to go ahead with it. You want to maximise the number of people in the ground.
ps. Blues fan Sam McClure was trying to argue that there would be more Tiger fans allowed in against Sydney in R3 than against Carlton which would be 50/50 and so Richmond should wait until then to unfurl both flags
.
* We've sin-till got a principle agreement with Carlton to share the gate. Benny said he knows the bloke running Carlton.
* Hardwick's marriage break-up?First response is saddened by the end of a 30-year relationship. We sat down and chose a course of action that was best for our club. Dimma just happens to be in a relationship with another employee at the club. It happens. We've got employees at the club who are married. Dimma is a very good football coach and will continue to be. Concern for the (Hardwick) family as it is a sad thing to see but not concerned for the club. The footy dept. focuses on what matters and what they control. They are well prepared, battle hardened and hungry and very driven.
* Dusty rumour to Sydney?Dusty is contracted until 2024. Confident he'll play beyond 2024 and that it will be at Richmond. He is extemely professional and a proud competitor.
* If Cotch wasn't captain (i.e. retired) who would take over? Tough question. Dusty is a strong leader in his own way. Knows who he is. There's Riewoldt, Vlastuin and Lynch who was captain at an opposition club. Strength and depth of leadership is very strong. Benny prefers the one captain and no co-captains.
* Amazon doco?We couldn't have been more cooperative. Article about us wanting it to be heavily edited is complete rubbish. Initially it was about me (Gale) but due to covid it fell onto the shoulders of Peggy. Dimma was very open with it all. There were some small little edits at times we asked for but all up we were cooperative.
* Hardwick new contract?Dimma is an extremely capable coach. He'll be paid what he's worth and it will all work itself out.
* Membership?100k members last year. The choice this year was to pay up front or pay a base rate then pay as you go to attend matches. Members chose the former. We are going to have to choose balance. It's about equity and fairness.
* A team in Tasmania?Would be great for the AFL but saying that is the easy part. The hard part is to make it work. In fairness to the AFL, there hasn't been the clean air over the past 12 months. Staff reductions have made it harder to focus on the issue.
Healy then went on a hypothetical where Gale ends up AFL boss and had to make the decision on a Tassie team. Gale laughed as the question was being asked and responded that that's an unfair question. He is not close enough to it all to make that decision. Too busy running an AFL club. As a Tasmanian his heart is in the issue but you would need to know all the details.
* Prediction for the next decade?I want to be like Geelong. Strong off and on-field. Still knocking on the door every year and putting us in a position to win the flag.
