Opinion Im concerned by the blasé decisions made of the powers that be at Punt Rd lately.

[Truetiger]

She didn't need to be President lol

Just making a point. Usually only a second term. So the other poster was in-fact correct.

 

[TigerImposter]

Just making a point. Usually only a second term. So the other poster was in-fact correct.

yes , but not correct on the point i was making. it was irrelevant as i wasn't speaking about the presidency term

 

[RJK Tiger]

When we were on fire all the rival teams were looking to improve by stealing our key personnel. Our top coaches in Caracella, McCrae, Rutten and Kingsley. A part from former Capt Newman returning we've replaced them with blokes who've been fired or recently retired players. North poached Thursfield, WCE likewise with Clarke. We replaced Clarke with an unemployed fired dude that no other team bothered to pick up in the 4 months since he was fired.

Hardwick and Kingsley have poached off field people like football analysis manager Hayden Hill and others I can't recall. Luke Meehan was given Burge's gig without an exhaustive search for a replacement.

We've had our top people plundered and we're replacing them with discards and unproven flops.

I can't access the article but John Ralph has written:
"Richmond has investigated the reasons behind the injury carnage which has derailed its start under new coach Adem Yze.......Richmond believes its horrific run of injuries in a one-win season is down to bad luck rather than poor management.......... WTF??? Surely they're taking the p1ss? I would like to think that that's what they're just telling the media whilst behind the scenes they're scouring the globe to find the top guy to sort our woes, but on recent decisions I think old perm head and his clique just don't give a sh1t anymore and are more concerned with feathering their own nests than doing their actual jobs.

Graham Richmond might’ve lost the plot in latter years but never forget he was ruthless, slippery as an eel and turned the club into a powerhouse.

This $100mil blow-out doesn't add up to me.

Nov 2020: Plans announced for $60 million dollar development. $30 million already guaranteed by government funding.

Nov 2021: Designs revealed for $65 million Punt Road Oval redevelopment (majority of funding secured)

May 2022: The City of Melbourne has approved the demolition of the historic Jack Dyer Stand at Punt Road Oval as part of a redevelopment of the ground by the Richmond Tigers AFL club.
October 2022: Builders Tender for Punt Road Oval Redevelopment
May 2023: Richmond President Confirms Preferred Builder for Punt Rd Redevelopment

I've worked in Tier 1 construction and Tunneling for nearly 30 years in roles starting from apprentice up to Superintendent and upper management.
I'm mates and share offices with the big kahuna Project Managers and pick their brains to translate what they do to my owner building projects too. A year to get plans during Covid ok I'll kinda cop that but not really. 6 months to get council approval sure anyone who deals with bureaucracy knows can be a hassle, but during all that time things don't come to a halt there's planning still going on so once approval has been granted all ducks are in a row ready to launch. 5 months to go out to tender is ridiculous shouldn't take very long at all. 7 months for quoting and landing at preferred builder is obscene. Realistically those 2 steps should be 3-5 months Max!!!

A full year passes with no progress and now after the initial estimate of $60mil was padded out to $65mil and finally blows out to a whopping $100mil that doesn't add up and something rotten in Denmark folks. Without being privy to the inner workings I can understand $60mil to $65 as there would've been no doubt variations and upgrades on the initial concepts. THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL COSTS HAVE BLOWN OUT 54% in 2 years.
Like all construction jobs its mainly wages and materials that are your main costs. EBA increases say 5% p/a only justifies 10% increase in that component (that's assuming a generous 2 year delay, most likely only 12 month delay) Steel prices actually dropped >10% in 2023, concrete went up but nothing can really justify this new $100 mil figure.

A lot of the decision making seems lazy and inept. I get zero joy working construction. My only mate who loves his job is a fire-fighter. I can't imagine having a better job than being in the decision making process of the Richmond Footy Club. But it seems like the rot has well and truly set in. HTF could our injury debacle be written off as Hopper walked under a ladder, Gibcus kicked a black cat, Lynch squished a Christmas beetle and Prestia steps on too many cracks??

Our whole year is already a complete write off and I can't wait to see the injuries really stack up once the cold really takes hold. We won't get to know if Toce is great, ok or useless for 5+ years. I would've felt a whole lot better if we had poached the top guy from another club that every other club was envious we pried him loose, and seeing the world scoured for Meehans replacement. If Meehan and his whole team hasn't been replaced I'm taking 2025 off cos the clubs jumping the shark.

Like i've said before - its fun to finally see everyone else catch up.

No s**t. This has been bleeding obvious now for 4 years to those who were willing to see it.

 

[Freddy Swift]

Like i've said before - its fun to finally see everyone else catch up.

No s**t. This has been bleeding obvious now for 4 years to those who were willing to see it.

What would be your solution to our woes RJK? This is a genuine question, I am interested in how you see we could remedy our situation.

 

[SplintWhisky]

What would be your solution to our woes RJK? This is a genuine question, I am interested in how you see we could remedy our situation.

I know that you didnt ask for my input but I want to answer anyway. I would have a 4 point plan from the mid bye

1. I would engage in a world wide search for top performance and conditioning people. Meehan could be one of those people that is good as an employee but not a manager, that's ok some people are like that. I would be looking at soccer and NFL as a duo.

2. Start an external review of the Football department. I would include Yze as someone who assists with the review. This is so he can provide an outside idea on what he thinks need to be updated.

3. Have a conversation with all off ground staff. Does Gale want to be here for a while or does he want to start at Tassie? Does Balme want to be grandfathered out or does he still want to be involved. Who wants to hand around and who doesn't.

4. Talk with the senior players and ask who is on the ride. A frank conversation saying that "Hey, we may not be winning each week but our focus for success has changed. We are now focusing on development and growth for the team. If we get it together, we can make a run but that isnt the first goal". We need to be real focused on the growth of players. I believe we need to keep some senior players who can help train and guide the young players on how to win and what it takes to be a professional AFL player.

We need to actually look back at what we did during the 2010 - 2013 seasons. There is an argument to be made that we are right around the corner from there again. We need to find, develop and sign some kids to keep them away from Tassie. If we are shithouse for the next few years then we could potentially be saved from a Tassie raid but I think that in their second year we want to be getting close to being on the upswing.

Furthermore, I would be asking all of our recruiting network to go and find the best tall forwards in the country that are strong. Out of all the young talls it is only that Gold Coast player (Walter or the other one) who are tall and strong as once Lynch, Hawkins and Cameron retire there are not going to be any powerful forwards.

 

[Freddy Swift]

I know that you didnt ask for my input but I want to answer anyway. I would have a 4 point plan from the mid bye

1. I would engage in a world wide search for top performance and conditioning people. Meehan could be one of those people that is good as an employee but not a manager, that's ok some people are like that. I would be looking at soccer and NFL as a duo.

2. Start an external review of the Football department. I would include Yze as someone who assists with the review. This is so he can provide an outside idea on what he thinks need to be updated.

3. Have a conversation with all off ground staff. Does Gale want to be here for a while or does he want to start at Tassie? Does Balme want to be grandfathered out or does he still want to be involved. Who wants to hand around and who doesn't.

4. Talk with the senior players and ask who is on the ride. A frank conversation saying that "Hey, we may not be winning each week but our focus for success has changed. We are now focusing on development and growth for the team. If we get it together, we can make a run but that isnt the first goal". We need to be real focused on the growth of players. I believe we need to keep some senior players who can help train and guide the young players on how to win and what it takes to be a professional AFL player.

We need to actually look back at what we did during the 2010 - 2013 seasons. There is an argument to be made that we are right around the corner from there again. We need to find, develop and sign some kids to keep them away from Tassie. If we are shithouse for the next few years then we could potentially be saved from a Tassie raid but I think that in their second year we want to be getting close to being on the upswing.

Furthermore, I would be asking all of our recruiting network to go and find the best tall forwards in the country that are strong. Out of all the young talls it is only that Gold Coast player (Walter or the other one) who are tall and strong as once Lynch, Hawkins and Cameron retire there are not going to be any powerful forwards.

Happy to get your opinion SW and I can’t disagree with anything you mentioned.

 

[RJK Tiger]

What would be your solution to our woes RJK? This is a genuine question, I am interested in how you see we could remedy our situation.

You mean from here? I think we are basically doing it now. Perhaps not by choice, but circumstance.

I would invest heavily into the kids. "acceptance" that it will likely require 3 years of us in the bottom 3-5, as that is the result of playing kids. It's not to say we should "tank", just that we play kids first and accept that it very well could mean we have 3 seasons of losing. If the team starts winning with the kids, then thats perfectly fine - we don't tank, we just play the kids first.

To get into individuals.....

Dusty- If he want's to re-sign with us, then do it. If he wants to retire, then accept it. If he wants to go to Gold Coast, then try to convince him to do a "sign & trade" & make it be known that we are really disappointed in his decision to leave at a time when the kids require his greatness to learn from. Don'y make it easy for him to have his cake and eat it too.

Lynch - Keep him unless someone offers a first rounder to trade for him. He is injury prone, but he is vital. He could easily be the missing piece for a contender & at worst he provides the kids a real piece of structure to play around.

Prestia - Out of contract so cannot trade him. Re-sign him on 1 year contracts until he isn't best 22 if he is willing to be incredibly cheap, or, allow him to leave as we have no other choice. He is will provide a standard for the kids to thrive for & if he is injured, then he is not "propping" up pointless wins ( ie wins built on past players VS future ones).

Grimes - Retire

Hopper - Trade him at a loss to move on the contract. Pay 80% of his contract next season & 50% the year after & then no further. if it means we get even a late first for him, move him on. Wear the loss now instead of carrying the mistake for 4 more years.

Taranto - if someone wants to offer him a first rounder, take it. Same as above, but a lesser issue

Bolton, D.Rioli, Balta, Baker Vlaustin - retain at all cost. If they want to leave, basically rape the team wanting him to get him

Broad & Short - Same as above, but lesser scale. Accept fair offers if they want to leave. Definitely do not overpay to retain tho

KMAC, Pickett, Graham - Trade if anyone will take them, or offer very very cheap deals and if they are insulted and want to leave, let them with a smile and handshake. They are not the future. Would only retain them to provide bigger bodies while we are kid heavy, but definitely not worth fighting for. They are not going to cost us "empty wins" as they are not good enough, so keeping them to keep us from getting spanked is their only value.

Meehan - replace this piece of crap

MRJ, Clarke, Gibcus, Sonsie - Play every week, health permitting. They are the best prospects of the young guys

Dow, Ross, Young, Brown, Banks, Cumberland, Miller, Ryan, Campbell, Lefau, Ralph-Smith, Coulthard, Kosi - same as above and hope that they can move into the group above - if not, then move on from them once contracts expire

The Rest - cross your fingers and toes they come good and can provide some light. Start to sort them into the 2 groups above as time allows.

Off-Field - start investing more into replacing all the quality people we have lost. Balme, Gale, Peggy, McCrae, Kingsley, Leppa. We have not replaced any of them as of yet. Invest and poach.

Draft - go quality of picks over quantity. Meaning, trade multiple picks to get better picks if required. We have shown the rookie draft is as good as the draft proper after pick 30, so lean on that and make moves all about getting 1st & 2nd rounders. Stop drafting "inbetween" types also. We need structure pieces. Game breaking Mids, Rucks. Talls. etc

Trade / Free Agency - get active but don't get desperate. Be smart. Go for Houli's, Griggs, Caddys. Target young players who are in overstocked teams and try to get them for later picks etc. Consider everyone. Consider older "top up"
players like Hodge was for Lions, Lewis for Demons & Troy Chaplin was for us back in the day. Club needs genuine leaders of any age. Generally they are cheaper at the end of their career and the right type of leader ( Hodge ) will take on the role with pride, not reluctance. We essentially need to re-build our culture to a certain extent.

JUH - do your homework & make a decision on if he fits. If the answer is yes, then start trying to work out how you get him without it costing you a top 5 pick etc. He is the exact type of player we should target, but not at the cost of possibly drafting Harley Reid.

JUH at $1,000,000 per season is worth less than Harley Reid on a rookie contract. As good as JUH is, he comes with a long term financial risk that a new recruit/draft pick doesn't. JUH's value is compromised due to the contract he is demanding. In saying that, i personally think a decade of him Bolton & MRJ down forward is very interesting. If we could get him without it costing a stupid amount at the trade table, i would do it. With him you either overpay on the contract, or you over-pay at the trade table. Not both. Never both. West Coast did that with Tim Kelly and it was a bad decision


Pretty vague i know, but i would go about doing the above

 

[Groupie_]

I heard on radio that o rourke wants to be ceo caro said

when benny gale goes to tassie

seems soft .

bring back traditional Richmond yellow to replace fluro immediately and abolish green, red and blue sponsors and ill make a shrine to him

 

[Bojangles17]

I hear ya. What do you do? I'm on 7x 12hr nights then 3.5 days off. 7x12hr days then 4 days off. Its brutal. I'm lucky I can sneak naps/ slèeps in on night shift so I get by on only needing another couple hours at home and the peggies stay away while I'm sleeping in 1st aid rooms. The trick is organise quality foam 1st aid beds, plus ive got a 4wd matress, blanket and pillow setup in my car. Hope you exercise, because it takes years off our life and as you know *s up your social life and home life. Also try no caffeine after 6 hour mark of the shift. When tired dip your head in cold water. Quality blinds at home, disconnect doorbell, phone and you should be out soon as you hit the pillow.

Used to be so much easier when younger, could get by on 4 hours sleep. My Dad did rotating shifts for 25 years in petrol chem 2x 12 hr days, 2 x 12 hour nights then 5 days off. He could sleep the entire night shifts so he really only pretended to work 2 days then 7 days off lucky bast@rd

Gee I never picked u for being a surgeon

 

[Drunken Wookie]

You mean from here? I think we are basically doing it now. Perhaps not by choice, but circumstance.

I would invest heavily into the kids. "acceptance" that it will likely require 3 years of us in the bottom 3-5, as that is the result of playing kids. It's not to say we should "tank", just that we play kids first and accept that it very well could mean we have 3 seasons of losing. If the team starts winning with the kids, then thats perfectly fine - we don't tank, we just play the kids first.

To get into individuals.....

Dusty- If he want's to re-sign with us, then do it. If he wants to retire, then accept it. If he wants to go to Gold Coast, then try to convince him to do a "sign & trade" & make it be known that we are really disappointed in his decision to leave at a time when the kids require his greatness to learn from. Don'y make it easy for him to have his cake and eat it too.

Lynch - Keep him unless someone offers a first rounder to trade for him. He is injury prone, but he is vital. He could easily be the missing piece for a contender & at worst he provides the kids a real piece of structure to play around.

Prestia - Out of contract so cannot trade him. Re-sign him on 1 year contracts until he isn't best 22 if he is willing to be incredibly cheap, or, allow him to leave as we have no other choice. He is will provide a standard for the kids to thrive for & if he is injured, then he is not "propping" up pointless wins ( ie wins built on past players VS future ones).

Grimes - Retire

Hopper - Trade him at a loss to move on the contract. Pay 80% of his contract next season & 50% the year after & then no further. if it means we get even a late first for him, move him on. Wear the loss now instead of carrying the mistake for 4 more years.

Taranto - if someone wants to offer him a first rounder, take it. Same as above, but a lesser issue

Bolton, D.Rioli, Balta, Baker Vlaustin - retain at all cost. If they want to leave, basically rape the team wanting him to get him

Broad & Short - Same as above, but lesser scale. Accept fair offers if they want to leave. Definitely do not overpay to retain tho

KMAC, Pickett, Graham - Trade if anyone will take them, or offer very very cheap deals and if they are insulted and want to leave, let them with a smile and handshake. They are not the future. Would only retain them to provide bigger bodies while we are kid heavy, but definitely not worth fighting for. They are not going to cost us "empty wins" as they are not good enough, so keeping them to keep us from getting spanked is their only value.

Meehan - replace this piece of crap

MRJ, Clarke, Gibcus, Sonsie - Play every week, health permitting. They are the best prospects of the young guys

Dow, Ross, Young, Brown, Banks, Cumberland, Miller, Ryan, Campbell, Lefau, Ralph-Smith, Coulthard, Kosi - same as above and hope that they can move into the group above - if not, then move on from them once contracts expire

The Rest - cross your fingers and toes they come good and can provide some light. Start to sort them into the 2 groups above as time allows.

Off-Field - start investing more into replacing all the quality people we have lost. Balme, Gale, Peggy, McCrae, Kingsley, Leppa. We have not replaced any of them as of yet. Invest and poach.

Draft - go quality of picks over quantity. Meaning, trade multiple picks to get better picks if required. We have shown the rookie draft is as good as the draft proper after pick 30, so lean on that and make moves all about getting 1st & 2nd rounders. Stop drafting "inbetween" types also. We need structure pieces. Game breaking Mids, Rucks. Talls. etc

Trade / Free Agency - get active but don't get desperate. Be smart. Go for Houli's, Griggs, Caddys. Target young players who are in overstocked teams and try to get them for later picks etc. Consider everyone. Consider older "top up"
players like Hodge was for Lions, Lewis for Demons & Troy Chaplin was for us back in the day. Club needs genuine leaders of any age. Generally they are cheaper at the end of their career and the right type of leader ( Hodge ) will take on the role with pride, not reluctance. We essentially need to re-build our culture to a certain extent.

JUH - do your homework & make a decision on if he fits. If the answer is yes, then start trying to work out how you get him without it costing you a top 5 pick etc. He is the exact type of player we should target, but not at the cost of possibly drafting Harley Reid.

JUH at $1,000,000 per season is worth less than Harley Reid on a rookie contract. As good as JUH is, he comes with a long term financial risk that a new recruit/draft pick doesn't. JUH's value is compromised due to the contract he is demanding. In saying that, i personally think a decade of him Bolton & MRJ down forward is very interesting. If we could get him without it costing a stupid amount at the trade table, i would do it. With him you either overpay on the contract, or you over-pay at the trade table. Not both. Never both. West Coast did that with Tim Kelly and it was a bad decision


Pretty vague i know, but i would go about doing the above

Can't let go of Taranto and Hopper, if we can get them fit they'll be needed to guide the next generation in the middle.
We'd be left with a situation where our most senior full-time midfielder is... Ross? For all our up and comers to learn from.
Taranto especially is a training benchmark we need.