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No change of heart, just a change of stripes
By Greg Baum
June 06 2003
Greg Miller is now focused on delivering success to Punt Road.
Picture: VINCE CALIGIURI
When Greg Miller left the Kangaroos two years ago, he was a spent man. Although he had never played for the club, he had been much more than a nine-to-five official - he had been one of the founding fathers of its modern era. For 18 years (the last seven as chief executive), he had devoted himself to the Roos and their eternal battle against the AFL, other clubs and ever-threatening penury.
By 2001, Miller was a life member, but he had hit the wall. "I was exhausted," he said. "You just are. You talk to any of the guys - Bill Sanders, Andrew Ireland - it really gets you into a pretty ordinary physical state. I'm 10 times better now."
A year later, the revived Miller was recruited to Richmond. Tonight, he will be wearing the Tigers' colours as they clash for the first time with the club that will always have a part of his heart. Miller, the Richmond director of football, is not concerned about the reaction of the Roos' players and staff, many of whom he recruited and all of whom remain friends and understand why he left.
But he is apprehensive about the Kangaroos' supporters. He loves their ardour - it was what drove him on, he said - but knows the other side of that coin is that they recognise only "for" or "against".
"The players and the administration understood that I needed a break," he said. "Then a new opportunity came up for me. I had a new wife and new kids. Sometimes members don't see it the same way. My only apprehension is about them seeing me in Richmond gear. When it comes to battle, they look at things differently; they look at you as the enemy."
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Miller's emotional link remains strong. "You watch the results. You read the stories. You live through those games, against Carlton, more particularly against Adelaide," he said. "You know Jason (McCartney's) courage in how he handled missing out on the grand final in '99, and are not surprised he's handled this adversity with the same courage and class. You take it all on board.
"But the job I've got takes up my emotions and time now. My focus now is on getting to know Matthew Richardson better. To find out about Rory Hilton and his background. That takes time. You don't do that just by walking in with a name. You've got to live it. Like 'Spud' (Danny Frawley), and Wayne Brittain, and Darren Crocker, we're a collection of people who have pasts, but we're in this together for the benefit and enjoyment of the Richmond members."
Miller's most celebrated feat at North Melbourne was to sign Wayne Carey, aged 14, away from the Swans. But his mark was everywhere upon the Roos. At the beginning, he and coach John Kennedy set up communal houses for country and interstate recruits that he said laid a foundation. "That was probably the best single thing I did at North," he said. "That was the forerunner to what Denis ultimately put the polish on."
Miller counselled, as players, Andrew Demetriou and Ben Buckley, now running the AFL. He was a friend of Wayne Schimmelbusch, the best man he has met in football. He helped to recruit Dean Laidley, giving him an office job as the "Care for Kids" coordinator, and thought even then that he would one day make a successful coach or administrator.
Miller maintains friendships with both Carey and Anthony Stevens, and does not care to speak about last year's infamous scandal. He said Mick Martyn "makes me smile every time I think about him", which will be frequently next week as Richmond prepares to play Carlton.
Miller employed most current staff at Arden Street. "They remain friends. I'm proud of the job they're doing there, in difficult circumstances. I haven't got any ill feelings with anyone at North." He says of president Allen Aylett: "Thank God he put his hand up. No one else was."
He vividly remembers 1996 as a microcosm of his time at North. All at once, the Roos won the premiership, negotiated to merge with Fitzroy, only for the AFL to abort it, and made plans to play in Sydney and Canberra.
One of Miller's principles at Arden Street was to spend every one of the Roos' few spare cents on the players, because ultimately they would make or break the club. He is doing the same at Punt Road. "They're our assets. It's my aim to pay up to the maximum of the TPP."
Miller also made sure coach Frawley was not distracted by tasks that belonged to others, partly why so little has been seen and heard of Frawley this year. "He's a very good tactical and motivational coach," Miller said. "All we've taken off him is some extra jobs he shouldn't have been doing. I'm sure he realised that he was doing things he didn't need to do."
Miller understood that some expect tension between new chief executive Ian Campbell and himself - a successful chief executive from another club, after all. But he said he had been there, done that and had the ulcers, and had no ambition but to run a polished, passionate football department.
He also understood Richmond people were more impatient for success than the Roos had been. "That's about education . . . showing the members we are going in the right direction and keeping them abreast of that direction."
Miller said he could not promise the Tigers another Carey. "But I can promise you one thing: I'm out looking," he said. "I go out with the recruiting team every weekend. You just never know."
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No change of heart, just a change of stripes
By Greg Baum
June 06 2003
Greg Miller is now focused on delivering success to Punt Road.
Picture: VINCE CALIGIURI
When Greg Miller left the Kangaroos two years ago, he was a spent man. Although he had never played for the club, he had been much more than a nine-to-five official - he had been one of the founding fathers of its modern era. For 18 years (the last seven as chief executive), he had devoted himself to the Roos and their eternal battle against the AFL, other clubs and ever-threatening penury.
By 2001, Miller was a life member, but he had hit the wall. "I was exhausted," he said. "You just are. You talk to any of the guys - Bill Sanders, Andrew Ireland - it really gets you into a pretty ordinary physical state. I'm 10 times better now."
A year later, the revived Miller was recruited to Richmond. Tonight, he will be wearing the Tigers' colours as they clash for the first time with the club that will always have a part of his heart. Miller, the Richmond director of football, is not concerned about the reaction of the Roos' players and staff, many of whom he recruited and all of whom remain friends and understand why he left.
But he is apprehensive about the Kangaroos' supporters. He loves their ardour - it was what drove him on, he said - but knows the other side of that coin is that they recognise only "for" or "against".
"The players and the administration understood that I needed a break," he said. "Then a new opportunity came up for me. I had a new wife and new kids. Sometimes members don't see it the same way. My only apprehension is about them seeing me in Richmond gear. When it comes to battle, they look at things differently; they look at you as the enemy."
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Miller's emotional link remains strong. "You watch the results. You read the stories. You live through those games, against Carlton, more particularly against Adelaide," he said. "You know Jason (McCartney's) courage in how he handled missing out on the grand final in '99, and are not surprised he's handled this adversity with the same courage and class. You take it all on board.
"But the job I've got takes up my emotions and time now. My focus now is on getting to know Matthew Richardson better. To find out about Rory Hilton and his background. That takes time. You don't do that just by walking in with a name. You've got to live it. Like 'Spud' (Danny Frawley), and Wayne Brittain, and Darren Crocker, we're a collection of people who have pasts, but we're in this together for the benefit and enjoyment of the Richmond members."
Miller's most celebrated feat at North Melbourne was to sign Wayne Carey, aged 14, away from the Swans. But his mark was everywhere upon the Roos. At the beginning, he and coach John Kennedy set up communal houses for country and interstate recruits that he said laid a foundation. "That was probably the best single thing I did at North," he said. "That was the forerunner to what Denis ultimately put the polish on."
Miller counselled, as players, Andrew Demetriou and Ben Buckley, now running the AFL. He was a friend of Wayne Schimmelbusch, the best man he has met in football. He helped to recruit Dean Laidley, giving him an office job as the "Care for Kids" coordinator, and thought even then that he would one day make a successful coach or administrator.
Miller maintains friendships with both Carey and Anthony Stevens, and does not care to speak about last year's infamous scandal. He said Mick Martyn "makes me smile every time I think about him", which will be frequently next week as Richmond prepares to play Carlton.
Miller employed most current staff at Arden Street. "They remain friends. I'm proud of the job they're doing there, in difficult circumstances. I haven't got any ill feelings with anyone at North." He says of president Allen Aylett: "Thank God he put his hand up. No one else was."
He vividly remembers 1996 as a microcosm of his time at North. All at once, the Roos won the premiership, negotiated to merge with Fitzroy, only for the AFL to abort it, and made plans to play in Sydney and Canberra.
One of Miller's principles at Arden Street was to spend every one of the Roos' few spare cents on the players, because ultimately they would make or break the club. He is doing the same at Punt Road. "They're our assets. It's my aim to pay up to the maximum of the TPP."
Miller also made sure coach Frawley was not distracted by tasks that belonged to others, partly why so little has been seen and heard of Frawley this year. "He's a very good tactical and motivational coach," Miller said. "All we've taken off him is some extra jobs he shouldn't have been doing. I'm sure he realised that he was doing things he didn't need to do."
Miller understood that some expect tension between new chief executive Ian Campbell and himself - a successful chief executive from another club, after all. But he said he had been there, done that and had the ulcers, and had no ambition but to run a polished, passionate football department.
He also understood Richmond people were more impatient for success than the Roos had been. "That's about education . . . showing the members we are going in the right direction and keeping them abreast of that direction."
Miller said he could not promise the Tigers another Carey. "But I can promise you one thing: I'm out looking," he said. "I go out with the recruiting team every weekend. You just never know."
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