The Age Realfooty 10.07.2003
'Selfish' Tigers may face axe
By Jake Niall
July 10 2003
Richmond has foreshadowed some tough decisions about its playing list at season's end following a frank internal assessment of the club's football operations.
Richmond football director Greg Miller has delivered a mid-season report to the club board and made recommendations on how the club can be transformed from its present struggling state to become a consistent top-four contender - and his plan includes a tight player-payments regime.
Richmond president Clinton Casey said Miller's review - which he described as "the big one" for 2003 - was "an honest appraisal" of the playing list which pinpointed the key weaknesses and suggestions on how the club could be improved.
Miller, while reluctant to divulge details of the review, yesterday made it clear that Richmond would not achieve lasting success unless its players were prepared to sacrifice some money in the coming years.
Casey said Miller had also recommended some recruiting strategies and indicated that there would be tough decisions at season's end on players.
"This assessment of our list is as honest as it's ever been," he said.
Casey said the board was aware that the list lacked depth. "We know we've got no depth," he said. The board, he said, had been impressed with Miller's review and was optimistic it now had the right structures to achieve future success.
"We're impressed with this honest appraisal of our list and the structure, of our shortcomings and the sort of players we want to become a perpetual top-four contender."
Miller said the club's first priority had to be to get its salary cap in order, "to make sure you can take up (recruiting) opportunities when they present themselves".
He played down the notion that the list would have a major overhaul. "The system doesn't allow you make that many changes," he said.
Miller described Richmond's total player payments situation as "reasonable" but added that the club would only enjoy sustained success if players eschewed "selfishness" in their financial demands. "You can't have it," he said of greedy players.
"You want players at your club who want to be involved in the next premiership at Richmond and they're the ones we'll keep."
He cited the Kangaroos and Brisbane as examples of clubs whose players had made financial sacrifices to prolong their team's period at the top.
"They didn't have outlandish demands," he said.
Miller acknowledged that the Tigers had overrated their list at the end of 2001, when the team finished third and then topped up the list with Paul Hudson and Adam Houlihan.
He said the recruiting that followed 2001 indicated the Tigers believed themselves "closer (to a premiership) than they possibly were".
Miller's comments are consistent with his role as an objective internal critic at Richmond.
"They employed me to come and give an assessment of where the club was up to," he said. "That's happened and the board's been very supportive."
Miller also reiterated his message to the Richmond supporters that the club's resurgence would "take time" and required patience. He said that despite recent defeats, the Tigers had made "giant inroads" on a more successful future.
'Selfish' Tigers may face axe
By Jake Niall
July 10 2003
Richmond has foreshadowed some tough decisions about its playing list at season's end following a frank internal assessment of the club's football operations.
Richmond football director Greg Miller has delivered a mid-season report to the club board and made recommendations on how the club can be transformed from its present struggling state to become a consistent top-four contender - and his plan includes a tight player-payments regime.
Richmond president Clinton Casey said Miller's review - which he described as "the big one" for 2003 - was "an honest appraisal" of the playing list which pinpointed the key weaknesses and suggestions on how the club could be improved.
Miller, while reluctant to divulge details of the review, yesterday made it clear that Richmond would not achieve lasting success unless its players were prepared to sacrifice some money in the coming years.
Casey said Miller had also recommended some recruiting strategies and indicated that there would be tough decisions at season's end on players.
"This assessment of our list is as honest as it's ever been," he said.
Casey said the board was aware that the list lacked depth. "We know we've got no depth," he said. The board, he said, had been impressed with Miller's review and was optimistic it now had the right structures to achieve future success.
"We're impressed with this honest appraisal of our list and the structure, of our shortcomings and the sort of players we want to become a perpetual top-four contender."
Miller said the club's first priority had to be to get its salary cap in order, "to make sure you can take up (recruiting) opportunities when they present themselves".
He played down the notion that the list would have a major overhaul. "The system doesn't allow you make that many changes," he said.
Miller described Richmond's total player payments situation as "reasonable" but added that the club would only enjoy sustained success if players eschewed "selfishness" in their financial demands. "You can't have it," he said of greedy players.
"You want players at your club who want to be involved in the next premiership at Richmond and they're the ones we'll keep."
He cited the Kangaroos and Brisbane as examples of clubs whose players had made financial sacrifices to prolong their team's period at the top.
"They didn't have outlandish demands," he said.
Miller acknowledged that the Tigers had overrated their list at the end of 2001, when the team finished third and then topped up the list with Paul Hudson and Adam Houlihan.
He said the recruiting that followed 2001 indicated the Tigers believed themselves "closer (to a premiership) than they possibly were".
Miller's comments are consistent with his role as an objective internal critic at Richmond.
"They employed me to come and give an assessment of where the club was up to," he said. "That's happened and the board's been very supportive."
Miller also reiterated his message to the Richmond supporters that the club's resurgence would "take time" and required patience. He said that despite recent defeats, the Tigers had made "giant inroads" on a more successful future.
