Youth policy KOs Gaspar
05 May 2007 Herald-Sun
RICHMOND'S Darren Gaspar retired in disappointment yesterday after the dual All-Australian and coach Terry Wallace disagreed over his continued worth as an AFL stuff.
Gaspar struggled to hide his hurt as he called an immediate end to his 14-season, 228-game career after he was told younger teammates had caught up to him during Richmond's opening five losses.
Having been told on Wednesday that Richmond wanted to promote younger backmen, Gaspar, 30, decided to retire immediately, even though he had been named in the starting line-up against Geelong at Telstra Dome tomorrow.
"It has been made clear to me that my form was not the issue, it was about developing the players for the future," Gaspar said, reading from a statement.
"When I signed on last year (a one-season contract extension) I expected every opportunity to earn my spot in the team, as you would.
"When I learned this wasn't the case, I was surprised and very disappointed.
"I have no option but to respect the club's decision and I believe they will respect my decision to move on."
Gaspar's spot in the team to take on the Cats has been taken by young defender Kelvin Moore.
Two more youngsters, Matt White and Danny Meyer, were also brought in, replacing Gaspar, Greg Tivendale and Shane Edwards.
Gaspar and Wallace both used the word "respect" during their press conference, but their parting appeared a messy one.
However, Gaspar said he wanted to continue working with Richmond's next generation of key defenders, which includes Luke McGuane and Will Thursfield.
Wallace said his preference was for the veteran to stick out the year as insurance against injuries, although he insisted Richmond wanted to show Gaspar more respect than having him "wallow" in the VFL.
"We didn't make the decision for Darren to retire, that's Darren's decision and in his own rights," he said.
Wallace said he had shown Gaspar respect by having a "straight-line talk" with him, with club captain Kane Johnson in tow.
Wallace told Gaspar younger players had drawn level with him on performance.
"In our situation, when Darren was ahead of them in form, Darren was played," Wallace said.
"But once those guys had caught up to him, all of a sudden we believe the upside of playing those players outweighed everything else."
Gaspar admitted he was disappointed by Wallace's reasoning.
"The way they explained it to me was disappointing, but life goes on and I've got to deal with that," he said.
Wallace denied Richmond's call on Gaspar put other senior players on notice, and he said favouring youth was not a sign that the Tigers had written off 2007.
Gaspar, who on Thursday became the father of twin girls, said he would retire proud of his achievements and with no regrets.
He said his debut game and the 2001 finals series were his highlights, but said he would remain bitter at never achieving premiership success.
He was also proud of being able to handle the scrutiny put on him in the past five years, when his kicking and form fell away while he was on a long-term, big-money contract.
Gaspar was chosen by Sydney with the No. 1 pick in the 1993 national draft, before being claimed in the pre-season draft by Richmond in 1996.
He won Richmond's best-and-fairest award in 2001 and won All-Australian selection in 2000 and 2001.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21674329^20322,00.html
