Brendon Gale returns to take helm at Richmond
Greg Denham | August 11, 2009 | The Australian
A CASHED-UP Richmond yesterday unveiled a big part of its new look by announcing that former player Brendon Gale will be the Tigers' new chief executive at the end of the season.
The Richmond transition will continue to unfold with a new senior coach appointed before the end of the month, before its football department make decisions on the futures of a number of players.
Despite a poor year on the field which has yielded only five wins, Gale, who has resigned as chief executive of the AFL Players Association, will inherit a healthy club off the field.
Richmond, under outgoing chief executive Steven Wright, is poised to record its fifth consecutive profit, which this year is heading for a record $2 million result, well up on last year's profit of $395,000.
The Tigers can largely base their expected 2009 windfall on the recruitment of Ben Cousins and the optimism the former West Coast captain attracted.
Membership rose from a record 30,820 in 2008 to 36,981. Corporate sponsorship has increased as well as other areas, which will come in above budget.
The Tigers, for example, made almost $700,000 for their round-one home game against Carlton.
Gale, 41, who played 244 matches for Richmond as a ruckman-forward between 1990 and 2001, said he accepted the job last weekend after the Tigers had earlier this year sounded out several prospects, including Geelong chief executive Brian Cook.
The merry-go-round of club administrators continues however, with both Hawthorn and Sydney set to announce new chief executives.
The Hawks have not finalised a replacement for Ian Robson, who will start with Essendon in November, while former Melbourne midfielder Glenn Lovett, the Demons' best-and-fairest winner in 1992, is the front-runner to replace Myles Baron-Hay at the Swans.
Wright, who replaced Ian Campbell midway through 2004, will step aside at the end of the season to deal with an on-going debilitating illness - Guillain-Barre Syndrome - which affects the nervous system.
Gale yesterday stressed his desire for Richmond to return to the AFL force it was almost three decades ago. "I think clearly we have under-performed, there is no doubt about that," he said.
"Historically that may have been the case, in my involvement (as a player) we had a few periods of relative success but a fair period of under-performance.
"The club is a very successful club, it's been a very powerful club, often regarded as a "big four" club. I think it's fair to say it's not a "big four' club right now."
Despite speculation due to a push from Richmond's past players earlier this year, Gale said he had no intention of becoming the Tigers' chief executive before he was approached by club president Gary March in recent weeks.
Gale said he would be kept in the loop by the sub-committee in charge of the second stage of interviews in search of the Tigers' new coach. The stand out candidates after the first round of interviews were Hawthorn assistant coach Damien Hardwick and Geelong assistant Ken Hinkley.
"I think the club has been very robust in the process it put in place and they've stuck to that process, but given the importance of that decision, I'd certainly have an involvement in the appointment of that coach," Gale said.
"I think it's extremely important for me and the coach.
"In the meantime, I'll be getting briefings on the respective candidates and where they're at."
Wright will have a minor consultancy role in the redevelopment of new facilities at Punt Road.
"Sadly, in many ways my health has got in the way," Wright said. "It's not great to wake up in the middle of the night and your hands are paralysed."
Wright will remain involved next year with the $20 million redevelopment and the creation of the Australian Institute of Indigenous Learning and Skills Development.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25910695-2722,00.html
