Factions Agree Clear Winner Paramount

The Sunday Age

Sunday December 12, 2004

Caroline Wilson

THIS column has devoted copious amounts of space to Greg Miller over the years and it is fitting as the year draws to a close that we do so again as football's popular and charismatic wheeler-dealer puts the finishing touches on yet another deal.

While the industry remains baffled at Miller's unorthodox and - in our view - unworkable move onto Clinton Casey's election ticket, the Richmond football boss of two years has finally offloaded the problematic Ty Zantuck and looks to have picked up another ruckman, Trent Knobel, in the process.

As the votes flow in to decide who will be running the politically torn club after Christmas, Miller has convinced Casey that the Tigers can afford the 24-year-old former Saint at a base of around $160,000 and potentially $210,000 depending on the number of senior games he plays next year. This is despite Richmond's massive loss this year and the belief by some current board members that the club should consider putting out its hand for funds from the AFL's soon-to-be restructured competitive balance fund.

Subject to AFL approval, Knobel will join Richmond via its first pick in the pre-season draft thanks to some freed-up funds that have emerged via a sweetheart deal between the Tigers, Zantuck and the AFL - although the relationship between the first two parties has been anything but sweet. Knobel is a risk but a significantly better proposition than Steve McKee and his problematic groin. McKee was reportedly told on Friday he would not be returning to Tigerland.

Richmond is no longer committed to paying Zantuck for his off-field work behind the wheel of the club's membership van and so has been let off a significant amount of the footballer's 2005 contract. Whether Zantuck, with his increasingly troublesome reputation, is picked up remains to be seen, but the Tigers believe Port Adelaide and Essendon remain in the mix.

Whether it was Miller's fault that Zantuck was not traded in October for a far better return depends on who you talk to. Miller's reputation has always thrived on the fact that he carries his office in his head, but his fallibility, along with his expertise, has been exposed since he joined the struggling club after a lengthy stint as the Roos' CEO and accepted he was better at running a football department than an entire operation.

Or has he? The signs at Richmond are that Miller has been running the show for a variety of reasons and will continue to do so should Casey emerge victorious, despite the club's poor record under his leadership. CEO Steven Wright refused to comment on Miller last week and has continued to direct his staff to stay away from the politics.

Some have questioned why Miller has so steadfastly stuck behind Casey. Both men vehemently deny rumours of a financial partnership, although Miller did confirm last week that the company he owns with former Kangaroos marketing manager Francis Trainor has a deal with the club to supply caps as part of its membership package.

If Casey does win - and we should know the answer in a little over a week - then he will have Miller to thank for his victory. The latter appears to have convinced a remarkable number of Richmond supporters that he is the club's saviour, despite its poor record in 2003 and 2004, on the strength of his long-term recruiting.

Should Casey lose - and this columnist believes he does not deserve another term and questions his motivation in trying to stay - then Miller will go and Terry Wallace will be forced to find a new recruiting man.

Casey's failings have been reported here before, but little has been said about alternative president Charles Macek. Macek is a proven and impressive businessman, former sportsman and passionate Tiger. His only failings - as far as we can unearth - are that he served as a director in the past and is as straight as a die and a stickler for propriety in an operational sense. But perhaps they're not bad things when you've just lost more than $2 million in a year.

Macek's ticket boasts more skills and is more diverse than Casey's and again it is unfair to criticise the fact that Brendan Schwab and Peter Welsh served during the Casey-Frawley years when Casey ran his board largely as a one-man band and both directors quit because they had lost faith in him. The turnover of directors under Casey's five-year regime has been remarkable.

The challengers, too, appear united in their support of Wallace and his lieutenant, Paul Armstrong, along with Wright, who, under their guidance, would at least be clearly in charge.

Whatever the result, it appears a unanimous hope at Tigerland that the winning board is not divided and that one ticket or the other gets in, allowing Wallace to guide his new players out of the wilderness.

© 2004 The Sunday Age

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