“He’s one of ours”: Tigers advisor Neil Balme responds to ‘made up’ reports of Richmond unrest with Hardwick“The fact that she’s relying on ‘Robbo’ for information means that I reckon she’s making it up.”
Jack Jovanovski
zerohanger.com
September 6, 2023 Richmond senior club advisor Neil Balme has responded to reports of the club's unrest with Damien Hardwick departing Punt Road for the Gold Coast.
The Tigers missed the finals this season as three-time premiership coach Hardwick departed his Punt Road post in the middle of the season, leaving assistant Andrew McQualter as the interim man at the wheel.
With the club's off-season having officially begun, Richmond is in the process of sourcing its new full-time senior coach, with McQualter, along with a host of others, throwing his hat in the ring.
Balme joined Daniel Harford on RSN Breakfast on Wednesday, addressing recent conjecture surrounding Richmond's coaching vacancy.
"That's the challenge, how do you cope with it (missing the finals)? You're not supposed to win them all, so you've got to accept that a bit, and it's sometimes a bit of a rebirth," began Balme on Wednesday morning.
"That relates then to the fact that we're making a decision on coaching as well, which in its own way is probably a great opportunity for us to say 'Okay, what do we really need? Where are we with this?' and start again.
"Whether it's (Andrew) McQualter or someone else, that will be worked out over this month, but we're in a reasonable position from that point of view; we can at least make a decision on that, not that we'd probably love to sell out 'Dimma', but that's what has happened, and he's been brave enough to tell us how he felt, which is not always the way in footy."
During the week, veteran journalist Caroline Wilson reported on Footy Classified that some figures at Punt Road haven't been particularly pleased with Hardwick's recent dealings.
"Now the dust has settled on that extraordinary timeline between quitting Tigerland — burnt out at the end of May — to turning up as a rejuvenated and regenerated man in Gold Coast red at the end of August, some of Hardwick's recent behaviour has not sat well with Richmond people," Wilson detailed on Monday evening.
Balme responded to that report before delivering a dig to fellow travelled journalist Mark Robinson, who regularly appears on Fox Footy's AFL 360.
"I heard [her report] just before because I don't rely on those shows for my football information," laughed Balme.
"I do know 'Caro' very well and she's a terrific person and we're good friends, but I feel sorry for the media people at times because they've got to come up with a story, and that's kind of what that is.
"I mean, what does Richmond really think? We think Damien's one of us, he's been wonderful. Would we prefer that he was still coaching us? Probably, but you know what we're most proud of? Is that he was able to come to us and say 'I reckon I've puffed out, I reckon I'm done, I've been here for a long time and I think I'm not getting the point across and I'm not sure that I've got the energy to do it, and I'm going to tell you that'.
"The fact that he's finished up at Gold Coast, well he's one of ours, and we're not necessarily barracking for him when we play them, but footy's better off with people like Damien Hardwick in it, so we're happy he's there.
"It's a bit like who's the coach at Collingwood? He's (Craig McRae) one of ours. Who's the coach at GWS? He's (Adam Kingsley) one of ours. They've come through our program and we're really proud of that, and we love to see that.
"Now, I kind of get what 'Caro's saying, but the fact that she's relying on 'Robbo' (Mark Robinson) for information means that I reckon she's making it up. Have you ever heard her say "'Robbo' said" before? I don't reckon she has that often."
Balme also voiced his opinion on the concept of succession planning with coaches, noting its rare success and maintaining his confidence in Richmond's handling of its vacancy.
"To say that we didn't have a succession plan, can you have a succession plan while someone's your senior coach? I don't reckon you can," Balme continued.
"What's he going to think? It's rare that it happens and, really, what would you do is what we're doing now. The coach, finally, has had enough and we start again and see what we can find, and in a lot of ways it's a really positive thing for Richmond that we've got an opportunity to reset ourselves.
"We need to find the coach that we need ... You get to start again. So, it's not so negative as it's Damien's been wonderful for us and we love him ... But we've also got to listen to what the people say, and what he said is he's done, and we've still got to make a decision, but I think it helps us rather than hurts us."
The Tigers are expected to come to a conclusive head-coaching decision after this year's finals series winds to a close.
https://www.zerohanger.com/hes-one-of-ours-tigers-advisor-responds-to-made-up-reports-of-richmond-unrest-with-hardwick-142970/
