Miller has blind faith in Frawley
25 July 2003 AFL
By MICHAEL STEVENS
RICHMOND football director Greg Miller said yesterday he would continue to have "blind faith" in coach Danny Frawley.
"I can tell you there is a blind faith," Miller said.
"I've got a blind faith in him, and I think there's an unfortunate situation around at the club, which is a shame.
"But Danny's doing everything possible to succeed for the Richmond Football Club, and he'll continue to do so this year and next year."
Miller's comments come in the wake of a leaked memo from Tigers communications manager Paul Maley, which suggested Frawley's standing among supporters was at an all-time low.
Maley's memo said in part: "With regard to Danny's future, all comments must be a measured mixture of support without a perceived blind faith."
Miller said last night there was no issue between the coach and Maley.
"There's no issue, they've always got on fine," Miller said.
"Tony Greenberg (media manager) is the conduit to the coach rather than Paul Maley.
"Danny would read that (memo) today and be disappointed, but realises that Paul Maley does his job and Danny does his.
"I don't know whether they've spoken to each other today or not. Paul's been on leave and he wasn't in today."
Maley said he was disappointed the memo was aired and admitted it put Frawley in an awkward position.
"I'm disappointed it was read out by 3AW – I thought that was poor form – but I am not embarrassed by it," he said.
"Clearly it's not meant for public consumption, but every corporation does this sort of thing and provides ongoing assessment and advice on how to handle things."
Frawley was not available for comment yesterday.
Although Frawley has been under increasing pressure because of the Tigers' eight-game losing streak, Miller said he was encouraged by calls and e-mails from supporters yesterday.
"The amount of support today from people who don't normally contact their club has been unbelievable," he said.
An internal investigation at Punt Rd yesterday failed to discover the source of the leak.
"Obviously we'd like to know," Miller said. "We'll probably never find out, and all we've got to do is make sure it doesn't happen again."
Miller backed down on a claim that the source was Victorian cricket coach David Hookes and the state cricketers who use the Punt Rd pool facilities.
"I'm not saying he (Hookes) is or he isn't. Any events like this, you've got to tighten up security," he said.
"I'm not blaming David or a cricketer, but because we don't know who it is we've got to explore all tracks."
Hookes said last night he had spoken to his solicitor about the claims.
"To suggest me, in any role as a person, let alone as Victorian cricket coach, that I'd have access to an internal memo at Punt Rd and walk into somebody's office and thieve it off the desk, is just outrageous," Hookes said.
"For him to then ban our players from using their facilities because he's accusing me of being a thief is way out of line."
Hookes said 3AW producer Jackie Woodcock received the memo by e-mail just before 6pm on Wednesday.
"She didn't get a chance to read until the news, and she then handed it to Gerard (Healy) and told him not to say anything until it had been confirmed," Hookes said.
"Jack rang Tony Greenberg, who didn't deny its authenticity."
25 July 2003 AFL
By MICHAEL STEVENS
RICHMOND football director Greg Miller said yesterday he would continue to have "blind faith" in coach Danny Frawley.
"I can tell you there is a blind faith," Miller said.
"I've got a blind faith in him, and I think there's an unfortunate situation around at the club, which is a shame.
"But Danny's doing everything possible to succeed for the Richmond Football Club, and he'll continue to do so this year and next year."
Miller's comments come in the wake of a leaked memo from Tigers communications manager Paul Maley, which suggested Frawley's standing among supporters was at an all-time low.
Maley's memo said in part: "With regard to Danny's future, all comments must be a measured mixture of support without a perceived blind faith."
Miller said last night there was no issue between the coach and Maley.
"There's no issue, they've always got on fine," Miller said.
"Tony Greenberg (media manager) is the conduit to the coach rather than Paul Maley.
"Danny would read that (memo) today and be disappointed, but realises that Paul Maley does his job and Danny does his.
"I don't know whether they've spoken to each other today or not. Paul's been on leave and he wasn't in today."
Maley said he was disappointed the memo was aired and admitted it put Frawley in an awkward position.
"I'm disappointed it was read out by 3AW – I thought that was poor form – but I am not embarrassed by it," he said.
"Clearly it's not meant for public consumption, but every corporation does this sort of thing and provides ongoing assessment and advice on how to handle things."
Frawley was not available for comment yesterday.
Although Frawley has been under increasing pressure because of the Tigers' eight-game losing streak, Miller said he was encouraged by calls and e-mails from supporters yesterday.
"The amount of support today from people who don't normally contact their club has been unbelievable," he said.
An internal investigation at Punt Rd yesterday failed to discover the source of the leak.
"Obviously we'd like to know," Miller said. "We'll probably never find out, and all we've got to do is make sure it doesn't happen again."
Miller backed down on a claim that the source was Victorian cricket coach David Hookes and the state cricketers who use the Punt Rd pool facilities.
"I'm not saying he (Hookes) is or he isn't. Any events like this, you've got to tighten up security," he said.
"I'm not blaming David or a cricketer, but because we don't know who it is we've got to explore all tracks."
Hookes said last night he had spoken to his solicitor about the claims.
"To suggest me, in any role as a person, let alone as Victorian cricket coach, that I'd have access to an internal memo at Punt Rd and walk into somebody's office and thieve it off the desk, is just outrageous," Hookes said.
"For him to then ban our players from using their facilities because he's accusing me of being a thief is way out of line."
Hookes said 3AW producer Jackie Woodcock received the memo by e-mail just before 6pm on Wednesday.
"She didn't get a chance to read until the news, and she then handed it to Gerard (Healy) and told him not to say anything until it had been confirmed," Hookes said.
"Jack rang Tony Greenberg, who didn't deny its authenticity."
