Tigers' tents stand-offCaroline Wilson
The Age
June 21, 2012RICHMOND'S uneasy relationship with its VFL partner Coburg is at breaking point with the Tigers becoming increasingly alarmed at the flow-on effect of the aligned club's perilous financial position.
Determined to establish its own VFL team, which could play regular home games at Punt Road from the start of 2014, Richmond could bring forward a stand-alone seconds side with Coburg struggling to meet the conditions of its licence agreement.
The Age believes Coburg's financial state has become a week-to-week proposition being closely monitored by the Tigers.
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Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has made no secret of his firm belief that a portion of the football money raised by the Fighting Tiger Fund should be directed towards the establishment of a Richmond VFL team in a bid to improve the development of young players and rehabilitation of injured and struggling-for-form senior footballers.
With Richmond pushing to play finals, continuing to eradicate its debt and facing a decent profit for 2012, Hardwick wants that stand-alone team next year.
The latest eyebrow-raiser where Coburg was concerned was when Richmond learnt that the VFL Tigers - potentially including Tyrone Vickery or Brad Miller, along with recovering players such as David Astbury and Kelvin Moore - had been booked to stay in a local caravan park for Coburg's relocated round-14 home game in Warrnambool early next month. The players have already had to endure a long bus journey when, early this month, the Coburg home game against Bendigo was relocated to Shepparton.
Richmond was forced to inject $40,000 to prop up Coburg's finances again last year on top of its annual six-figure alignment budget, which this season will be $270,000 including $200,000 in cash desperately needed by the VFL club. AFL Victoria and Richmond have told Coburg there will be no more funds.
AFL Victoria chairman Peter Jackson told The Age yesterday that his body had made it clear it would no longer step in to prop up clubs that were not financially viable. He said any licence agreement between an AFL and VFL-aligned club could be broken if the terms of the licence were not met.
''The issue with Richmond and Coburg rests with the licence agreement of Coburg and the ability of the two clubs to operate under the terms of that licence,'' Jackson said.
Coburg president Bill Balakis, whose network has provided the bulk of the club's sponsorship support, had to be persuaded to stay on at the start of this season after telling the Tigers he would be resigning from the position.
Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale has installed his football lieutenant, Craig Cameron, on the Coburg board in a bid to keep a close eye on the football relationship between the two clubs.
While Richmond has no issue with Coburg's football staff - led by part-time coach Adam Potter, who is a school teacher, the financial state of the club and the subsequent inadequate back-up has become increasingly unacceptable for the up-and-coming AFL Tigers.
Cameron, along with Essendon's general manager of football, Paul Hamilton, and VFL club CEOs Brendan Curry (Williamstown) and Mark Patterson (North Ballarat) have also met for the first time as part of a new working party established by AFL Victoria chief Grant Williams to put in place a plan for the future, which will see more clubs push to join Collingwood, Geelong and - from 2013 - Essendon to establish their own second-tier sides.
The Victorian AFL clubs with VFL alignments signed at the end of last season to a three-year moratorium to retain stability while an improved model was devised. All those three-year licence agreements can be broken if the terms of an agreement - which demands financial viability - is broken. An aligned licence costs $55,000 annually, with the clubs fielding their own teams, such as Collingwood, having to pay $190,000 as well as the additional costs of running a stand-alone side.
Formed in 1891, Coburg became aligned with Richmond in 2001 after a VFA/VFL first division history of six premierships along with two second-division VFA flags.
Coburg has a negligible membership and, having ceased to become an attractive breeding ground for elite young players, could cease to exist as a VFL side as early as next year.
AFL Victoria also has fears for the future of Bendigo once Essendon fields its own stand-alone team from next season.
''The second tier is crucial for player pathways, talent development, retaining our network of facilities and volunteers and sponsors and community engagement in Melbourne's growth areas,'' Jackson said. ''We've got to find a model that suits everyone's needs.''
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