Richmond president Gary March last night declared retired former captain Kane Johnson (pictured) as "a senior coach in the making", adding that the Tigers would do everything in their power to keep Johnson at the club next season. Caroline Wilson of The Age reports that March, emerging from the club's first board meeting in the wake of the Terry Wallace-era, confirmed that the search for a new coach would be launched in earnest at the start of July and would include at least one consultant from outside the club. This came after the retirement late yesterday afternoon of former captain Johnson and his immediate appointment as a development coach for the rest of the season. Johnson will fill the void left by three-time Brisbane Lions premiership player Craig McRae who was last night ratified as the new Coburg coach replacing Richmond's caretaker coach Jade Rawlings.
The initial coaching panel will be led by football director Tony Free, football boss Craig Cameron and sport psychologist Jeff Bond who works at the club as the general manager of development and learning. At least one and potentially two outside consultants will be secured over the next week. Richmond has not ruled out looking at about 20 potential coaching candidates with March and chief executive Steve Wright becoming involved in the second stage. The Tigers remain keen for another former captain, Wayne Campbell, to remain a candidate despite Campbell being overlooked for the caretaker role.
Richmond has been strongly supportive of Johnson, who yesterday admitted defeat in his battle with knee injuries, since the revelation that the former skipper was influential in Chris Newman's approach to Wallace last month suggesting the coach had lost the players and should resign. "In the short time I have known Kane Johnson I have come to respect him enormously," said March. "We see him as a senior coach in the making and we're hopeful and we are delighted he is staying on to guide our younger players. We're hopeful Kane will remain at the club next year. He has retired on his own terms."
No one at Tigerland has denied Johnson's involvement in the recent Wallace confrontation, but the board and administration's strong regard for Johnson meant there was massive concern that he could be lost to the club. Johnson's teammates were filthy that the story had become public and angry that the recently retired captain of four years had been "hung out to dry". March is understood to have been working behind the scenes to ensure Johnson remained at the club with a view to retaining him in the long term.
Now Wallace is gone, and no sooner had he packed his bags that Johnson made a call upon his damaged body, and March and Wright, along with Craig Cameron offered the 31-year-old dual Adelaide premiership player McRae's development position. Johnson's influence on Newman was strongly, but privately defended by Richmond's powerbrokers in the belief the former skipper was acting through his passion for the club.
Interestingly, while Newman and Joel Bowden attended Wallace's farewell press conference, Johnson did not.
McRae will replace Rawlings as coach of Coburg while David King — a potential candidate for a position at the Kangaroos next year — will see out the year as an assistant coach but will not, he has told Richmond, be applying for the senior coach's position.
The massive decisions facing the club, the worst-performed in the AFL despite some financial gains in recent years under March and Wright, will be thrashed out at a management retreat on the Gold Coast which will coincide with the Tigers' July 4 clash against Adelaide at Carrara.
Richmond assistant Campbell was disappointed like King to be overlooked for the caretaker role, but is understood to remain a major part of the club's plans moving forward and should be encouraged to apply for the 2010 coaching position.
PAVLICH SUPPORTS INJURY SUBSTITUTES
Matthew Pavlich has called for the introduction of an injury substitution rule, reports Samantha Lane of The Age, but has warned against coaches trying to "tamper" with it. Fremantle's skipper and the only current player on the AFL's eight-man laws of the game committee, Pavlich was one of three members of the advisory group who supported the concept yesterday. Kevin Bartlett and the AFL Players Association's Brendon Gale would also support the rule change. Pavlich said that no changes should be permitted after half-time and that the rule would have to be stringently policed so that only injured players were replaced. "We couldn't substitute a guy in the last quarter because someone could have played the majority of game time, you put a fresh player in and that obviously helps that team," Pavlich said. "Like all football clubs, coaches and organisations, they'll try to tamper with it. So there has to be a cut off at some point. (The injury) would have to be checked out, probably by an independent doctor, either at that time or after a game."
Bartlett proposed that the number of players allowed to be interchanged freely should be cut to two, but that each side should be granted four substitute players a match in the interests of covering injuries. "The substitutes can (be) introduced any time during a game, but only two can be interchanged, and the players substituted (off) can't go back on," the 403-game Richmond great said on his radio show yesterday.
Gale said: "I think the concept warrants serious consideration … we're dealing with the health and safety and welfare of players. "Guys being injured and being required to play out games, I don't think is a good outcome. But if you put a limit on the actual number of players that can be interchanged, does than also have an adverse impact on health and safety and welfare and soft-tissue injuries? There's a lot of research being conducted as to the impact of high levels of rotations on injuries and some would suggest there's a strong correlation between high interchange and high-collision injuries. But the reverse is possibly true."
RYDER IN THE CLEAR; FLETCHER SET TO RESUME
Essendon have averted a crisis, with ruckman Patrick Ryder cleared of a rough conduct charge, while full-back Dustin Fletcher is expected back in the second half of the split round against Melbourne, according to the Age. The match review panel offered the club's only available ruckman a one-match ban for rough conduct against Adelaide's Patrick Dangerfield and the club risked a two-week suspension if last night's AFL Tribunal challenge failed. "My intention was to lay a shepherd, just run in with my arm and (hit) his arm and shoulder," Ryder said. A medical report from the Crows' doctor showed Dangerfield had been treated for a cut to his head, a neck strain and headaches despite returning to the field two minutes after the clash. Counsel assisting the AFL, Andrew Tinney, argued that Ryder was taller and heavier than Dangerfield and the ruckman had a duty of care to his opposition player when he contacted him high. But Ryder said he had no intention to hurt Dangerfield, thought the contact had been made with "small force", and had no alternative than to apply the bump in the circumstances of the game.
Fletcher is back training after fracturing his fibula in round six and will bolster the club's list of available talls. "We'll get a couple of defenders back in 'Fletch' and possibly Michael Hurley after the break," Camporeale said. "We'd love to have a couple of dominant ruckmen (available) in Hille and Ryder, but we're not dwelling on the situation, we've just got to plan better."
KING ACCEPTS FOUR
St.Kilda ruckman Steven King will miss four matches - including the most anticipated game of the home-and-away season - over his off-the-ball clash with North Melbourne's Sam Power. This came after King decided not to risk a six-match suspension by visiting the tribunal, instead submitting an early guilty plea to his rough conduct charge to limit the ban to four games. Power was knocked unconscious and suffered severe concussion as a result of Saturday's collision at Etihad Stadium, which occurred well off the ball and was deemed intentional by the match review panel. The Saints will be able to replace King with fellow ruckman Michael Gardiner for Friday night's match with Carlton at Etihad Stadium, as Gardiner has completed a one-match ban of his own. King will also miss games against Richmond, Geelong and West Coast. It is his absence for the July 5 clash with his former club the Cats that will hurt him and his team most. The Saints and Geelong are both unbeaten at the halfway mark of the season and the Cats expect to have their No1 ruckman, Brad Ottens - out since round two with a knee injury - to be back by that stage.
NAMING LIGHTS SPONSOR FOR MCG?
Sections of the MCG's famous facade could be sold off to help pay a $320 million debt, according to the Herald Sun. Mark Dunn wrotes today that the prospect of the ground's sacred name being sold to advertisers might make most Victorians cringe but that has not stopped big business making a pitch. Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive Stephen Gough told the Herald Sun there were no offers to buy naming rights to the whole ground, but discussions over rights for the stadium's light towers did come up periodically. Insiders said although the MCC board - which manages the ground - had so far rejected the offers, it may be only a matter of time before corporate logos began to appear on the towers or roof - providing MCC coffers with an estimated $5 million a year. Gough said while the board rejected a proposal to sell the ground's name in 2001 - when considering funding for the Northern Stand development - it would formally consider any serious naming rights bid because of the significant money involved. "I'm sure if someone put a formal approach, we would have to look at it," Gough said. "But I just don't think we'd have the appetite for it. "There have been people who have looked at the light towers . . . we might go back and look at (that)." But Gough stressed he believed the MCC could rely on its members and turnstiles to pay for the ground's development and its debt.
Industry experts estimated, based on the $5-$8 million a year Etihad paid for naming rights at the Docklands stadium, the MCG rights would be worth $20 million a year. Naming contracts are usually for a 10-year period, representing a potential deal worth up to $200 million. One industry source said businesses were even interested in having their names on MCG car parks. "Three-quarters of Melbourne would be against changing the name of the MCG, but there is a chance for parts of it - especially the roof and light towers," the source said. He said the MCG name was seen as sacrosanct for "The Peoples' Ground" and would not be changed while the MCC board remained conservative. "It's like Lord's. But parts of it are another thing . . . you could see Gough softening (on those)."
MALTHOUSE-HARDIE FEUD ERUPTS AGAIN
Brownlow Medallist Brad Hardie's lingering feud with Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse has erupted again, with the former Footscray and Brisbane player labelling the ex-Eagles mentor a "tosser" after he omitted Hardie from his ultimate team, repoirts Tim Clarke of the West Australian. This comes after Malthouse, set to coach his 600th AFL game in Round 12, nominated his best team from his time coaching at Footscray (1984-89), West Coast (1990-99) and now Collingwood (2000-09), Malthouse picked 10 former Eagles in his line-up including John Worsfold, Glen Jakovich and Chris Mainwaring. But despite his Brownlow in 1985, club champion award with Footscray in 1986 and being named temporary captain that year by Malthouse, Hardie did not make it. And after also failing even to make Malthouse's alternative best 22, Hardie let fly, saying Malthouse was “full of bullshit”. Said Hardie on 6PR in Perth: "The bloke is a tosser … and there are a lot of people in the industry that think it but don’t have the balls to say it. If it is his favourite team that is fine I am not going to be in his favourite team, if it his best team yes I should be in it. The reason I should be in his best team - I played 47 games for the Bulldogs, that was all I could play, never missed a game, never got dropped. I won the club champion award in 1986 which Mick would have voting on, ran third in 1985 which Mick would have been voting on. I won the Brownlow medal in 1985 which Mick was not voting on but was obviously doing something right. I played in the state games in 1986 and won a Simpson and a Tassie medal which I am very proud of."
Included in Malthouse's team which appeared over the weekend were Worsfold as vice captain, Jakovich and Mainwaring, alongside Brett Heady, Dean Kemp, Peter Matera, Guy McKenna, Ashley McIntosh, Chris Lewis and Peter Sumich. And with Nathan Buckley as captain, Malthouse said he had picked his players based on “team-first footballers", with the intimation Hardie was not one of those - an assessment Hardie vehemently disagreed with.
Mick Malthouse’s Ultimate team was:-
B: James Clement (Coll), Ashley McIntosh (WC), John Worsfold (WC, vc)
HB: Doug Hawkins (Foots), Glen Jakovich (WC), Guy McKenna (WC)
C: Peter Matera (WC), Nathan Buckley (Coll, c), Chris Mainwaring (WC)
HF: Alan Didak (Coll), Anthony Rocca (Coll), Brett Heady (WC)
F: Chris Lewis (WC), Peter Sumich (WC), Leon Davis (Coll)
Foll: Andrew Purser (Foots), Dean Kemp (WC), Brian Royal (Foots)
Interchange: Paul Licuria (Coll), Don Pyke (WC), Michael Brennan (WC),Tony McGuinness (Foots)
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