Knights: How I fell out with Frawley
25 November 2007 Sunday Herald Sun
Jon Ralph
THE ugly rift between new Essendon coach Matthew Knights and former coach Danny Frawley during the former Tiger captain's last days at Richmond has been laid bare in a new book.
Knights was closing on his 100th consecutive game when he was dropped in 2002 and was encouraged to retire by Frawley later that year.
Knights had been stripped of the captaincy for the 2001 season and forcefully retired as many as two years earlier than he had hoped.
In The Tigers - A Century of League Football, compiled by Kevin Bartlett's son, Rhett, Knights speaks of his untenable relationship with Frawley.
"The only time I lacked confidence was in my last year," he said.
"That's possibly due to the relationship between myself and Danny fragmenting. Maybe the last year of that relationship wasn't great because Danny was thinking it was time I moved on.
"We had a tough year and I think the decision had been made that this was going to be my last year from the coach's point of view.
"The week I had been left out was going to be my 100th game for the second time around. It wasn't a scenario I looked heavily into, but for supporters of Richmond, who had followed my career from day dot, maybe they thought that that was a terrific achievement. Danny and I didn't agree on the decision."
Knights returned to the senior team the following week, but was soon told by Frawley he should retire that year, before eventually pulling the pin in Round 17.
"Danny and I had lunch at a cafe and he basically said, 'We think you should retire at the end of the year. It's not only my decision, it's a match committee decision'.
"I said to Danny, 'I disagree with you. I think I have another year or two left in me'. In my press conference I can still remember saying I am retiring, but it wasn't my decision."
Kevin Bartlett returned to Punt Rd this week to launch his son's book, but speaks candidly for the first time about why he shunned the club for almost two decades following his sacking as coach in 1991.
Bartlett said he believed the Richmond board was aware he was coaching with no money for players or support staff, but was mistaken.
"I was expecting to remain coach of the club because I honestly believed those close to the club knew the difficulties that the Richmond Football Club was facing," he said.
"The first time I knew I wasn't coach was when Neville Crowe and Cameron Schwab, the general manager, turned up at my home and told me.
"I felt disappointed someone could be involved for so long yet the club couldn't find the time to speak to its coach and talk about, one, his future; and two, the club's future."
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