Ask Danny
10:38:46 AM Wed 9 October, 2002
Danny,
Jason Torney played 22 games this year. Half-way through the year he was one of only two Richmond players in contention for the All-Australian team, according to the Herald-Sun. He appeared to me to be a courageous player, who generally was reliable and whose skills were better than average and quite a bit better than some players' skills who are remaining on the list. And, he had another five years in him. Yet you delisted him. This mystifies me. Could you please elaborate?
Regards,
Mark
Mark,
Firstly, I'd like to clear up one point -- Jason Torney has not been delisted by the Richmond Football Club. At the end of our season Jason, who is coming out of contract, was informed by the Club that he was a required player, but we weren't in a position at the time, due to a number of circumstances, to offer him the type of new deal he, understandably, would be hoping for after a pretty consistent season. He was told that if he or his management felt it was in his best interests to look elsewhere in the meantime for long-term security, we would fully understand. That's how it stands at the moment, but let me repeat that Jason certainly hasn't been sacked, delisted or dumped by the Club.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
I've been reading with interest the idea of performance-based contracts and am interested to hear your thoughts as to how they would work on an individual player basis, given our game is a team game. For example, would the individual player have a set of goals (pardon the pun!) which are also aligned with the greater team goals? Would the player only achieve their bonus if, and only if, the team achieved or exceeded their goals? I could see a scenario where a player would strive to achieve their personal goals, possibly at the expense of the team's goals. How would you counter this sort of behaviour? Keep up the great work at Tigerland, and I'm looking forward to hearing the Tigers roaring in 2003!
Regards,
Paul Tanner
Paul,
One way to make performance-based player contracts more team-oriented would be to reward players for the work they do in the all-important team pursuits category. That would probably be the best means of encouraging the team aspect within an individual performance-based agreement.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
I want to know why you got rid of Steven Sziller? Please write back because I'm a really big fan of yours.
Regards,
Robert Griguol
Robert,
Steven Sziller decided to retire from AFL football. He gave us excellent value in two seasons after being delisted by St Kilda, but felt the time had come to bow out of top-level football. I understand, however, that he's keen to continue playing in a local, suburban league.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
I am a huge Richmond fan, in particular of Matthew Richardson. I would like to know who you think holds the key to the Club's future success, and whether you see any key positions that need filling. I have been particularly happy with the efforts of Rodan, Coughlan and Fiora. Do you think they hold the key?
Regards,
James Doidge
James,
There's no doubt David Rodan, Mark Coughlan and Aaron Fiora shape as very important members of the Tiger team for the future. They are young, talented and particularly keen to do what's necessary to achieve success at the top level. Given the fact our midfield is one area which really needs a boost, the form of that trio in there is likely to be a key factor in the team's overall performance.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
Apart from the midfield, one other major problem at Richmond this year looked like there was a real lack of leadership on the ground (except for the captain). Do you have any plans to improve this area? Would you consider giving the captain a break in next year's pre-season comp. to see if this would improve the leadership in the rest of the playing group? Also, I have heard reports that the quality of this year's draft is very thin. What is your opinion of it? Do you see many good quality midfielders there?
Regards,
Simon Wallace
Simon,
The leadership area is something that we're certainly looking closely at. I think Wayne Campbell has done a terrific job as captain, but I agree that he needs more support. If we're to make serious inroads in the competition next year, we must fast-track the leadership skills within the playing group. You only to have to look at the competition's pacesetters, the Brisbane Lions, to recognise the importance of having a solid blend of quality leaders throughout your side. Michael Voss is an excellent captain, but he receives great support from the likes of Alastair Lynch, Chris Scott, Brad Scott, Justin Leppitsch, Marcus Ashcroft, Nigel Lappin, Shaun Hart and Chris Johnson. That's a key reason why the Lions are so hard to beat.
Regards,
Danny
10:38:46 AM Wed 9 October, 2002
Danny,
Jason Torney played 22 games this year. Half-way through the year he was one of only two Richmond players in contention for the All-Australian team, according to the Herald-Sun. He appeared to me to be a courageous player, who generally was reliable and whose skills were better than average and quite a bit better than some players' skills who are remaining on the list. And, he had another five years in him. Yet you delisted him. This mystifies me. Could you please elaborate?
Regards,
Mark
Mark,
Firstly, I'd like to clear up one point -- Jason Torney has not been delisted by the Richmond Football Club. At the end of our season Jason, who is coming out of contract, was informed by the Club that he was a required player, but we weren't in a position at the time, due to a number of circumstances, to offer him the type of new deal he, understandably, would be hoping for after a pretty consistent season. He was told that if he or his management felt it was in his best interests to look elsewhere in the meantime for long-term security, we would fully understand. That's how it stands at the moment, but let me repeat that Jason certainly hasn't been sacked, delisted or dumped by the Club.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
I've been reading with interest the idea of performance-based contracts and am interested to hear your thoughts as to how they would work on an individual player basis, given our game is a team game. For example, would the individual player have a set of goals (pardon the pun!) which are also aligned with the greater team goals? Would the player only achieve their bonus if, and only if, the team achieved or exceeded their goals? I could see a scenario where a player would strive to achieve their personal goals, possibly at the expense of the team's goals. How would you counter this sort of behaviour? Keep up the great work at Tigerland, and I'm looking forward to hearing the Tigers roaring in 2003!
Regards,
Paul Tanner
Paul,
One way to make performance-based player contracts more team-oriented would be to reward players for the work they do in the all-important team pursuits category. That would probably be the best means of encouraging the team aspect within an individual performance-based agreement.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
I want to know why you got rid of Steven Sziller? Please write back because I'm a really big fan of yours.
Regards,
Robert Griguol
Robert,
Steven Sziller decided to retire from AFL football. He gave us excellent value in two seasons after being delisted by St Kilda, but felt the time had come to bow out of top-level football. I understand, however, that he's keen to continue playing in a local, suburban league.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
I am a huge Richmond fan, in particular of Matthew Richardson. I would like to know who you think holds the key to the Club's future success, and whether you see any key positions that need filling. I have been particularly happy with the efforts of Rodan, Coughlan and Fiora. Do you think they hold the key?
Regards,
James Doidge
James,
There's no doubt David Rodan, Mark Coughlan and Aaron Fiora shape as very important members of the Tiger team for the future. They are young, talented and particularly keen to do what's necessary to achieve success at the top level. Given the fact our midfield is one area which really needs a boost, the form of that trio in there is likely to be a key factor in the team's overall performance.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
Apart from the midfield, one other major problem at Richmond this year looked like there was a real lack of leadership on the ground (except for the captain). Do you have any plans to improve this area? Would you consider giving the captain a break in next year's pre-season comp. to see if this would improve the leadership in the rest of the playing group? Also, I have heard reports that the quality of this year's draft is very thin. What is your opinion of it? Do you see many good quality midfielders there?
Regards,
Simon Wallace
Simon,
The leadership area is something that we're certainly looking closely at. I think Wayne Campbell has done a terrific job as captain, but I agree that he needs more support. If we're to make serious inroads in the competition next year, we must fast-track the leadership skills within the playing group. You only to have to look at the competition's pacesetters, the Brisbane Lions, to recognise the importance of having a solid blend of quality leaders throughout your side. Michael Voss is an excellent captain, but he receives great support from the likes of Alastair Lynch, Chris Scott, Brad Scott, Justin Leppitsch, Marcus Ashcroft, Nigel Lappin, Shaun Hart and Chris Johnson. That's a key reason why the Lions are so hard to beat.
Regards,
Danny
