Casey guard up as Schwab bid builds
13 July 2004
Herald Sun
Trevor Grant
A RICHMOND rebel group is set to launch its much-awaited challenge to president Clinton Casey.
Led by former director Brendan Schwab, the group is expected to approach Casey within the next fortnight to demand his resignation.
"It could be either this week or next, but you can say it's on," one source said yesterday.
Schwab would not comment on the timing of any challenge, but he indicated it was still very much alive.
"Obviously I'm very worried about the on-going viability of the football club," he said.
"I certainly don't rule out having an involvement in the future in any capacity that the people of Richmond want me to have."
It is understood Schwab and Tigers' 1980 premiership wingman Peter Welsh met at the weekend to firm up plans to oust Casey.
While the exact make-up of the reform ticket is still to be finalised, Schwab, 36, a lawyer who is chief executive of the Australian Entertainment Industry Association, is believed to be considering taking on the role of president if his group gains control.
His board is expected to include Welsh, who runs a successful business in sporting apparel and footwear, Mike Humphris, a liquidation expert and former director who played a major role in saving the Tigers from the financial precipice in the early 1990s, and Colin Radford, an executive with the Tigers' sponsor, the TAC.
Former premiership wingman Bryan Wood has also been linked with the group. It is understood the group would also move to enlist the support of board members Gary March and Alan Nicklos.
The revolt at Richmond was brewing well before the team began to show it was headed for another disastrous season. It had its origins in the resignations of Schwab and Welsh early in the year, which were based on their assessment of the club's finances and a dispute over board governance.
The appointment of a new coach to replace Danny Frawley, who will step down at the end of the season, is a key issue. Ideally, the alternative group would want to have some input into the appointment, but the driving force is the club's financial position.
The club expects to lose in the region of $2 million this year, which would take its accumulated losses in the past two years to almost $3 million.
Casey's predecessor Leon Daphne said earlier this year that when he departed the presidency at the end of 1999, the club had "$1 million in the bank".
"It's not about personalities. It's about the alarming deterioration in the club finances," a source said.
If Casey does not step aside when he's approached, the new board would force an extraordinary general meeting and ask the club membership to decide.
Casey has stated firmly a number of times he would be willing to talk to any potential challengers.
But he's given no indication he would stand down. Only last week he declared that it was "business as usual" at Richmond.
The group has spent many weeks mulling over the idea of a challenge.
However, it has been delayed by an extended recruitment and selection process. Many past players and supporters have been approached; others are said to have offered to be part of the push.
It is believed that Schwab and his men decided to make their run only in the past few days.
It's understood the group does not believe the lack of a prominent Richmond figure to head the ticket will affect its chances of taking office if the matter goes to an election.
Schwab, who served on the Tigers board for five years, is the son of the late Alan Schwab, whose rise to senior executive level at the AFL began when he became Richmond secretary in 1968. Brendan's elder brother, Cameron, currently chief executive at Fremantle, was general manager at Richmond from 1988-1994.
Brendan's background is in sports and industrial law. Before joining the AEIA a year ago, he was chief executive of the Australian Professional Footballers Association, representing Australia's elite soccer players.
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