I was finding it hard to compare David and Jim's replies in their interviews on www.rhettrospective.com (the soon to be relaunched rhettrospective 
) so have copied their replies over to here for convenience.
David's replies are in Green and Jim's are in White.
What is wrong with the current board ?
Essentially the club has lacked, in recent years, board members with direct experience and contact with the vast bulk of Richmond supporters. This has resulted in a continuing series of decisions, which haven't sufficiently taken the views of the "ordinary" supporters into account, and this has resulted in a negative impact on the club, which could have been avoided with a more direct understanding of these issues at board level.
Our board does have some very valuable people with experience in most of the areas that the club needs, but like a good football side you can't just have 18 "Full Forwards" on the field, you need a balanced team to cover all of the requirements of the task, so while a board with a sufficient quantity of business people is desirable, having too many there may not be.
I believe the current Board has played a significant role in getting the RFC to its current position, however the generation of new and fresh ideas from "new blood" could definitely assist the club. There may be alternative ways the RFC can look at revenue generation, membership strategies, operational efficiencies and any strategic issues to ensure the RFC remains financially healthy over the longer term. Furthermore, the current board should also be more responsible for members suggestions as they are the heart and soul of the RFC and may have valuable suggestions that could assist the club.
Our board does have some very valuable people with experience, however the injection of new people who are passionate, have fresh ideas with business experience can in my opinion only move the club forward.
Why should we vote for you ?
I am probably in a fairly unique position of being able to observe the club because of my direct involvement in various activities as a volunteer since
1985, as well as having regular contact with, (and being an), "ordinary" supporter. This has given me a perspective where I have seen many decisions
that the club has made in this period that could have been done a lot better if supporter issues were a higher priority.
Essentially I have seen it done right at times and I have also seen it done less than right too many times, at the current point in time our club now has a group of people who I believe could improve our club significantly,
and I believe that someone like myself on the board could improve the chances of this happening in the short term, as well as cementing the improvements for years to come.
I believe I could bring some fresh new ideas and passion into the RFC, with the key objective being the success of the RFC both on and off the field. AFL
football is today played in a tough economic environment. If RFC was going to thrive and succeed in today's economic climate, we needed to look at other
avenues for revenue and cash flow creation. Whilst everybody realises that on field success usually transforms into financial off field success, we need to
ensure that adequate revenue and capital generation is required to ensure the long term future of the RFC no matter what the outcome on field. This is an area
I believe I could help the club - such as looking at alternative revenue streams, looking at corporate increasing sponsorship $ for the club, reviewing
current membership strategies, and ensuring the long term viability of the RFC.
This is reviewing the club from an off-field perspective - from a football angle and perspective, we need to ensure that the resources we have provided the
football department do translate into success and winning matches, whether this be in the Final 8 or Top 4 position on the ladder. However at the end of the day
we will not have seen to have succeeded if we cannot win a Premiership flag.
This is what we should all be striving for working as a team - anything less in my view is not acceptable.
Will putting your hat in the ring, cause unrest at Board level ?
Possibly, but if anyone on our current board can't respect the right of Richmond members to directly select the people ultimately responsible for
the running of the club, then I would question if their motives for being on the board are the right ones that we need.
In one way I believe that an election will reduce the building frustration that certain groups in the club have exhibited. Anyone with an idea of the history of our club will realise that this frustration will sooner or later
result in an attempt to "take over" the whole board with the resulting mess taking our club years to recover from.
I am hoping to change that pattern by allowing people the opportunity to participate in a civilised election without the traditional "us or them" slanging matches that have characterised our last two votes.
I believe that there may be some "unrest" at Board level, however what's critical to understand here is the motives for running. My aim for nominating is not to cause unrest however to give members the opportunity to decide through an election their representation at Board level
My aim as a board director will be to ensure both short term and long term success for the RFC, both on and off and the field. With the election planned for late January 2004, it would be up to the members (who are the heart and soul of the RFC ) with the opportunity to decide who they feel should represent them
as board director for the RFC.
Are there current board members that you support
In the current trio that are up for election, I would most likely vote for Tony Jewell and Peter Welsh as both have demonstrated their commitment to
the club in many areas. There are others on the board that I know have contributed to the club but in reality - like most Richmond members - I have little idea what the others actually do as directors - either good or
bad - because they don't tell us!
I do make an important distinction in contributing in the role of Director, it may be all very well for certain individuals to contribute with various types of corporate sponsorship etc., but that is totally irrelevant to the
important role as a member of the board which should be to DIRECT the club and make sure that things happen in the way we need them to.
Anyone can be a sponsor and put money into the club in various ways, if they truly support the Richmond Football Club they shouldn't need a position on the board as their reason to contribute.
I believe the current board's role in appointing both Ian Campbell and Greg Miller within the administration and football side is a good move. I have not been privy to the exact nature of Gary March's role as director within the club, though I do realise that both Tony Jewell and Peter Welsh have made positive contributions to the RFC.
How will your election help the club off field and on field ?
Hopefully off the field it will give the Richmond supporters a clear signal that there is now someone to directly look after their interests at board level, in the short term I can't see this doing anything but helping with increasing membership numbers.
Having a resource at board level to review policies and decisions with a supporter perspective should allow the club to make better decisions and avoid many of the negative impacts that have occurred recently, this should also help in the medium and long terms with supporter numbers and all the related benefits to the club.
I'm not too sure what will happen on the field, my kicking isn't too good these days....... but seriously, the whole club would have a more direct
link to what supporters are feeling - good or bad - so, for instance, the Football Department would have the opportunity to be better informed about and able to understand the supporters. This may help to avoid certain situations which may impact on the on-field performance in a negative
manner.
I believe that the policies I would implement would ensure the following:
* Increased revenue generation for the RFC, ensuring positive cash flow for
additional resources ie, better facilities for players
* Increased corporate sponsorships
* Increased in memberships with a specific target of 40,000 members. I see no
reason why the RFC cannot meet the membership targets of both Collingwood and
Essendon.
* Off field the club should be aiming for a Premiership flag, as well as
consistent football performances. With an increase in the above, the club will be in a better position to invest in its players and further resources. Ergo,
ensuring the RFC can retain and draft the best talent pool of players going around. Bear in mind. anything less than aiming for a Premiership flag should not be tolerated.
) so have copied their replies over to here for convenience.David's replies are in Green and Jim's are in White.
What is wrong with the current board ?
Essentially the club has lacked, in recent years, board members with direct experience and contact with the vast bulk of Richmond supporters. This has resulted in a continuing series of decisions, which haven't sufficiently taken the views of the "ordinary" supporters into account, and this has resulted in a negative impact on the club, which could have been avoided with a more direct understanding of these issues at board level.
Our board does have some very valuable people with experience in most of the areas that the club needs, but like a good football side you can't just have 18 "Full Forwards" on the field, you need a balanced team to cover all of the requirements of the task, so while a board with a sufficient quantity of business people is desirable, having too many there may not be.
I believe the current Board has played a significant role in getting the RFC to its current position, however the generation of new and fresh ideas from "new blood" could definitely assist the club. There may be alternative ways the RFC can look at revenue generation, membership strategies, operational efficiencies and any strategic issues to ensure the RFC remains financially healthy over the longer term. Furthermore, the current board should also be more responsible for members suggestions as they are the heart and soul of the RFC and may have valuable suggestions that could assist the club.
Our board does have some very valuable people with experience, however the injection of new people who are passionate, have fresh ideas with business experience can in my opinion only move the club forward.
Why should we vote for you ?
I am probably in a fairly unique position of being able to observe the club because of my direct involvement in various activities as a volunteer since
1985, as well as having regular contact with, (and being an), "ordinary" supporter. This has given me a perspective where I have seen many decisions
that the club has made in this period that could have been done a lot better if supporter issues were a higher priority.
Essentially I have seen it done right at times and I have also seen it done less than right too many times, at the current point in time our club now has a group of people who I believe could improve our club significantly,
and I believe that someone like myself on the board could improve the chances of this happening in the short term, as well as cementing the improvements for years to come.
I believe I could bring some fresh new ideas and passion into the RFC, with the key objective being the success of the RFC both on and off the field. AFL
football is today played in a tough economic environment. If RFC was going to thrive and succeed in today's economic climate, we needed to look at other
avenues for revenue and cash flow creation. Whilst everybody realises that on field success usually transforms into financial off field success, we need to
ensure that adequate revenue and capital generation is required to ensure the long term future of the RFC no matter what the outcome on field. This is an area
I believe I could help the club - such as looking at alternative revenue streams, looking at corporate increasing sponsorship $ for the club, reviewing
current membership strategies, and ensuring the long term viability of the RFC.
This is reviewing the club from an off-field perspective - from a football angle and perspective, we need to ensure that the resources we have provided the
football department do translate into success and winning matches, whether this be in the Final 8 or Top 4 position on the ladder. However at the end of the day
we will not have seen to have succeeded if we cannot win a Premiership flag.
This is what we should all be striving for working as a team - anything less in my view is not acceptable.
Will putting your hat in the ring, cause unrest at Board level ?
Possibly, but if anyone on our current board can't respect the right of Richmond members to directly select the people ultimately responsible for
the running of the club, then I would question if their motives for being on the board are the right ones that we need.
In one way I believe that an election will reduce the building frustration that certain groups in the club have exhibited. Anyone with an idea of the history of our club will realise that this frustration will sooner or later
result in an attempt to "take over" the whole board with the resulting mess taking our club years to recover from.
I am hoping to change that pattern by allowing people the opportunity to participate in a civilised election without the traditional "us or them" slanging matches that have characterised our last two votes.
I believe that there may be some "unrest" at Board level, however what's critical to understand here is the motives for running. My aim for nominating is not to cause unrest however to give members the opportunity to decide through an election their representation at Board level
My aim as a board director will be to ensure both short term and long term success for the RFC, both on and off and the field. With the election planned for late January 2004, it would be up to the members (who are the heart and soul of the RFC ) with the opportunity to decide who they feel should represent them
as board director for the RFC.
Are there current board members that you support
In the current trio that are up for election, I would most likely vote for Tony Jewell and Peter Welsh as both have demonstrated their commitment to
the club in many areas. There are others on the board that I know have contributed to the club but in reality - like most Richmond members - I have little idea what the others actually do as directors - either good or
bad - because they don't tell us!
I do make an important distinction in contributing in the role of Director, it may be all very well for certain individuals to contribute with various types of corporate sponsorship etc., but that is totally irrelevant to the
important role as a member of the board which should be to DIRECT the club and make sure that things happen in the way we need them to.
Anyone can be a sponsor and put money into the club in various ways, if they truly support the Richmond Football Club they shouldn't need a position on the board as their reason to contribute.
I believe the current board's role in appointing both Ian Campbell and Greg Miller within the administration and football side is a good move. I have not been privy to the exact nature of Gary March's role as director within the club, though I do realise that both Tony Jewell and Peter Welsh have made positive contributions to the RFC.
How will your election help the club off field and on field ?
Hopefully off the field it will give the Richmond supporters a clear signal that there is now someone to directly look after their interests at board level, in the short term I can't see this doing anything but helping with increasing membership numbers.
Having a resource at board level to review policies and decisions with a supporter perspective should allow the club to make better decisions and avoid many of the negative impacts that have occurred recently, this should also help in the medium and long terms with supporter numbers and all the related benefits to the club.
I'm not too sure what will happen on the field, my kicking isn't too good these days....... but seriously, the whole club would have a more direct
link to what supporters are feeling - good or bad - so, for instance, the Football Department would have the opportunity to be better informed about and able to understand the supporters. This may help to avoid certain situations which may impact on the on-field performance in a negative
manner.
I believe that the policies I would implement would ensure the following:
* Increased revenue generation for the RFC, ensuring positive cash flow for
additional resources ie, better facilities for players
* Increased corporate sponsorships
* Increased in memberships with a specific target of 40,000 members. I see no
reason why the RFC cannot meet the membership targets of both Collingwood and
Essendon.
* Off field the club should be aiming for a Premiership flag, as well as
consistent football performances. With an increase in the above, the club will be in a better position to invest in its players and further resources. Ergo,
ensuring the RFC can retain and draft the best talent pool of players going around. Bear in mind. anything less than aiming for a Premiership flag should not be tolerated.
