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IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.
PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
I was lucky enough to attend the aftermatch function today and thought I'd pass on some thoughts / observations.
In attendance - Dale Weightman, Tony Free, Wayne Campbell and Kane Johnson - No players in attendance.
Flea acted as MC and gave a brief overview of the game today then passed mike onto Tony, Wayne and then Kane.
Flea - said that we'd shown that we could play footy - just didnt turn up until quarter time. Believes we have some good young tallent and the signs are there - we just need to play four quarters of football.
Tony Free - Was introduced as a board member and had some very interesting things to say - spoke very well (I hadn't seen Tony in person before) and clearly enjoys a good relationship with Wayne Campbell.
Interesting points he made:
He was very honest and upfornt about where the football club is coming from - 'behind the eight ball' - and said that they had and would continue to invest in the football department. He noted that this would mean extra resources, and interestingly - made the point that we needed better & more assistant coaches.
He went on to say that he too beleived that we had some good talent at the club but that this years draft would be very important to us. He went on to say - and it was a point that Flea also reiterated - that we would see a lot more youth in the future and that we needed to see every player on our list to see whether they would be there in the future. My read on this was - and Free was very clear about this - that this year would be a development year. Again - he acknowledged that more resources needed to be added to the club - especially more coaching and development.
One thing that was clear is that Free is clearly one of the people driving change within the club - he spoke very articulately about the need for resources and this years draft - he certainly had a long term view and wasn't at all hung up on the win / loss record - if anything, he acknowledged (and my girlfriend picked up on this too) that they would be putting youth and development ahead of wins!
Free's relationship with Campbell is clearly very strong - and if I were a betting man - If Terry goes, Wayne will be put in charge. Clearly he sees Wayne above Royal, Jade, etc
Wayne Campbell spoke very well, however he didnt 'blow my socks off' - asked how we'd win next week he replied "I have no idea - right now, I'm just going to finish this pot of beer and I'll worry about that tomorrow". Having said this, he spoke like a man who had decided that coaching was for him - having acknowleged that the time at the Bulldogs has shown him that he had a genuine desire to go down the coaching path! Again, he wasn't too worried about the result today - although he acknowledged that it was the midfield that failed to fire in the first quarter - and that was consistently pointed at as the cause of todays loss.
Richo will miss the next two - three weeks due to hamstring tendonitis. It was admitted that playing him had been a risk and that it had backfired... He would miss not because of a tear - but tendonitis of the hamstring - which they said was better.
Kayne Johnston spoke well - as usuall. He spoke about the importance of getting around the young leaders (Newman, Oxel, etc) and that he now had to wait 4 weeks before returning to the VFL - due to R Nahas elevation off rookie list - even thoug he was back training with the boys. On this, he was looking forward to getting back out there for the latter part of the year. It certainly wouldnt surprise anyone in the room tonight that this will be his last year!
All in all - a great little function put on by the Syndey tigers supporter group - although it was openly lamented that no players were in attendance.
In attendance - Dale Weightman, Tony Free, Wayne Campbell and Kane Johnson - No players in attendance.
Flea acted as MC and gave a brief overview of the game today then passed mike onto Tony, Wayne and then Kane.
Flea - said that we'd shown that we could play footy - just didnt turn up until quarter time. Believes we have some good young tallent and the signs are there - we just need to play four quarters of football.
Tony Free - Was introduced as a board member and had some very interesting things to say - spoke very well (I hadn't seen Tony in person before) and clearly enjoys a good relationship with Wayne Campbell.
Interesting points he made:
He was very honest and upfornt about where the football club is coming from - 'behind the eight ball' - and said that they had and would continue to invest in the football department. He noted that this would mean extra resources, and interestingly - made the point that we needed better & more assistant coaches.
He went on to say that he too beleived that we had some good talent at the club but that this years draft would be very important to us. He went on to say - and it was a point that Flea also reiterated - that we would see a lot more youth in the future and that we needed to see every player on our list to see whether they would be there in the future. My read on this was - and Free was very clear about this - that this year would be a development year. Again - he acknowledged that more resources needed to be added to the club - especially more coaching and development.
One thing that was clear is that Free is clearly one of the people driving change within the club - he spoke very articulately about the need for resources and this years draft - he certainly had a long term view and wasn't at all hung up on the win / loss record - if anything, he acknowledged (and my girlfriend picked up on this too) that they would be putting youth and development ahead of wins!
Free's relationship with Campbell is clearly very strong - and if I were a betting man - If Terry goes, Wayne will be put in charge. Clearly he sees Wayne above Royal, Jade, etc
Wayne Campbell spoke very well, however he didnt 'blow my socks off' - asked how we'd win next week he replied "I have no idea - right now, I'm just going to finish this pot of beer and I'll worry about that tomorrow". Having said this, he spoke like a man who had decided that coaching was for him - having acknowleged that the time at the Bulldogs has shown him that he had a genuine desire to go down the coaching path! Again, he wasn't too worried about the result today - although he acknowledged that it was the midfield that failed to fire in the first quarter - and that was consistently pointed at as the cause of todays loss.
Richo will miss the next two - three weeks due to hamstring tendonitis. It was admitted that playing him had been a risk and that it had backfired... He would miss not because of a tear - but tendonitis of the hamstring - which they said was better.
Kayne Johnston spoke well - as usuall. He spoke about the importance of getting around the young leaders (Newman, Oxel, etc) and that he now had to wait 4 weeks before returning to the VFL - due to R Nahas elevation off rookie list - even thoug he was back training with the boys. On this, he was looking forward to getting back out there for the latter part of the year. It certainly wouldnt surprise anyone in the room tonight that this will be his last year!
All in all - a great little function put on by the Syndey tigers supporter group - although it was openly lamented that no players were in attendance.