“We were very far in the draft in the last two years, we had already taken five players in the draft and I know the football coach and the panel are very excited about all these players.
Peggy O’Neal.Credit:Simon Schluter
In his first in-depth interview since taking over from Peggy O’Neal, O’Rourke said he would try to continue his strong but low-key leadership style at Richmond.
He said Hardwick was already Richmond’s longest-serving manager and was under contract until the end of next year but, although there was no rush to do so, the club are reportedly looking to start talks over a new contract at some point this year.
O’Rourke said Richmond strongly supported a new team in Tasmania; and that the new $90 million redevelopment of the Punt Road home has received full planning approval and is expected to begin this year; but the randomness of the draw this year meant the Tigers’ blockbuster games, other than the first round against Carlton, were all away games so they could fight for a profit.
ON HARDWICK
Hardwick is contracted until the end of next year – which will be his 15th season in charge – but O’Rourke said the club are likely to extend that.
“We really appreciate Damien. I don’t think there’s any rush about it. We think he’s still at the top of his game,” he said.
Damien Hardwick, coach of Richmond.Credit:Jason South
“He’s very engaged and excited and refreshed again I think this year. He’s had a good time abroad, [and] I think we are very, very lucky to have him.
“I think he also appreciates the refreshing of the list. He’s our long-term man, as far as I’m concerned.
ON BRENDON GALE
O’Rourke said chief executive Brendon Gale would keep the club informed of his discussions with the AFL over the job of league CEO, and while they didn’t want to lose him, they were comfortable with it. the situation.
“He’s very committed to the redevelopment project, which is something he’s really invested in for future long-term contracts,” he said.
“At the moment I think it’s business as usual until we know otherwise.”
AT A TASMANIAN AFL CLUB
Richmond has five all-time champion players – Royce Hart, Matthew Richardson, Michael Roach, Jack Riewoldt and Ian Stewart – who all hail from Tasmania.
Gale is a longtime player and then administrator who is a Tigers great and also a Tasmanian great. The club recognizes its deep ties to the state and believes it’s time there was a club there.
“We think the time is right,” O’Rourke said. “We think, based on the information we had on hand, it’s solid. It’s good business, it’s for the good of the game, for the national competition, it’s time.
“We have done as well as anyone else in our history with Tasmanian players. I think Tasmania, from what we’ve seen, can be sturdy and stand on its own two feet.
WHO IS JOHN O’ROURKE?
This president of Richmond is neither an American, nor a Hawthorn footballer passing by the Giants.
This Jono O’Rourke is his nephew.
This John O’Rourke is the successor to one of the game’s great pioneers, Peggy O’Neal – the club’s first American-born and raised female president.
O’Rourke in that sense – and really that sense alone – is a departure from her. His pedigree is completely traditional, where O’Neal’s was unorthodox.
“Peggy is kind of impossible to follow. His commitment to the members and his consistent attitude set the tone for the day, so we want that to continue,” he said.
O’Rourke’s father, Basil, played four games for Richmond. His uncle, Jack, was the Tigers striker in the 1950s who won the goal kick in 1951 and 1952. And his grandfather played at Fitzroy and then St Kilda before the depression hit, and he went into the bush in search of work.
John O’Rourke was brought up at Glenroy and Broadmeadows.
He founded the infrastructure company Plenary Group, which now manages more than $4 billion in assets in Australia, the United States and the Middle East.
He joined the Richmond Board of Directors in 2015, served on the VRC Board of Directors and remains on the Grand Prix Board of Directors.
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