Dear Members and Supporters,

The Tiger Army has done it again. For the sixth successive year we have broken through the 100,000-member barrier. It is a testament to the loyalty and passion of our supporter base and a source of great pride for everyone associated with the Club.

Thank you to each and every person that joined as a member. Our membership base is critically important to building and maintaining the strength of our Club, not only for the here and now, but for generations to come.

And that support was on show for all to see against Hawthorn last weekend. The resilience and belief of our playing group enabled them to reel in a 30-point three-quarter-time deficit and keep in the hunt for finals. The roar of the Tiger faithful was palpable, and we will need that support more than ever in the coming weeks.

I thought it was timely to provide members and supporters with an update on the process we have put in place for the appointment of our next senior coach.

Since Damien Hardwick resigned, the Club has spent significant time clarifying exactly what attributes and skills we are looking for in our next senior coach. This process has been completed and we will now move to the next stage of developing a short-list of candidates to participate in panel interviews.

The panel conducting these interviews will be led by CEO Brendon Gale and include General Manager- Football Performance, Tim Livingstone and our General Manager- Football Talent, Blair Hartley. Club vice-president Henriette Rothschild will also sit on this panel; her vast experience in key executive appointments and shaping high performing teams, will be invaluable.

Externally we have engaged Paddy Steinfort and Frank Ponissi to be involved with the panel interview process.

Paddy is a former Richmond player who is now Performance Director at Football Australia. Prior to Football Australia, Paddy has held many high-performance roles at sporting organisations including the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Eagles. He brings a wealth of diverse experience to our deliberations.

Frank Ponissi has been General Manager of Football at the Melbourne Storm since 2007. He has been a highly successful coach and administrator both in Australia and internationally. Frank works closely with Storm head coach Craig Bellamy, forming an elite partnership that has delivered four premierships and seven grand final appearances. He brings tremendous experience to the panel, understanding high performance environments and coaching that delivers sustained success.

We look forward to providing further updates as the process unfolds. While there is no firm timeline on appointing our senior coach, we anticipate the process to be completed by September.

Finally, can I urge as many supporters as possible to get to the MCG this Sunday when we take on Melbourne. It is a critical game for the Club, and as mentioned earlier, the Tiger Army certainly play their part. I look forward to seeing you at the football.

Go Tigers.

John O’Rourke
President
Richmond Football Club