In the latest of a series of regular columns, Richmond President Peggy O’Neal talks to members and supporters about some of the recent – and future – plans around the Club.

To my fellow Tiger supporters:

In opening my third column this year and before I get to your questions, I'd like to give you an update on our progress for an AFLW team. On 27 July, the Club met with the AFL Committee that is considering the applications for one of the licenses to field a team in the AFLW competition in 2019. Dan Richardson, Kate Sheahan, Brendon Gale, Aaron Clark and I, had a very engaged and constructive meeting with the Committee and believe that we made a compelling case. We emphasised the Club's culture, capacity and capability, as well as our commitment to making the AFLW successful. Our large membership base, our financial stability, our Next Generation Academy region and our ability to grow attendances were all points of difference which make, in my view, our application very strong.

While the AFL has not yet decided how many new teams will be allowed, we were told that the decision would be announced by the end of August.

The Club has mentioned it will share plans for the expansion of the Swinburne Centre with supporters. Any idea when that is likely to be?

The development of a masterplan is a complex process. As mentioned in my previous columns, the Club has made a broad submission to the Victorian Major Stadium Strategy working group to share our thinking about the development of the sporting precinct as a whole. Clearly, Richmond Football Club is a gateway to that precinct and our place should be carefully considered, and maximised. There is still a significant amount of work to be done before we are in a position to show you those plans, but we will do so as soon as we can (perhaps as early as the end of the year).

With the vacancies in the AFL executive, is Brendon staying at the Club?

Brendon has publically stated that he has no interest in the AFL vacancies as he is committed to the Richmond Football Club.

Richmond is one of only four clubs that doesn’t report membership revenue in the Annual Report. Will this change as I think that is as important as the number we sell?

Thanks for your suggestion. We have previously reported membership revenue as part of a combined number that includes stadium contribution and other consumer products, but we will take your observation on Board and consider the most appropriate way to report that number as we approach the 2016/17 year end.

What has happened with the naming rights of Punt Road Oval? I understand St Kilda has a lucrative naming rights deal organised before moving back to Moorabbin. Punt Road is extremely visible and offers significant earning potential?

As you may now be aware (given this question was emailed a few weeks ago), Swinburne University is now the Punt Road Oval facility naming rights partner. You are correct that the naming rights of the Punt Road Oval facility is extremely valuable. The Club was also very conscious of developing a partnership that was much deeper than simply branding a facility. It is pleasing that we have found an outstanding partner in Swinburne University that we can work with on so many levels and we look forward to developing a long and beneficial relationship for many years to come.

I am tired of being torched by umpires! Does the Club stand up for itself and its supporters and demand explanations?

The football department communicates with the AFL’s umpiring department when we want to seek clarification around certain decisions. As our coach has said, it has become an increasingly difficult game to umpire and we clearly aren’t going to agree with every decision that gets made.

I’m so disappointed with the narrow losses. Why do they appear to take their foot off the pedal?

We have all been disappointed with the narrow losses but, equally, we have also prevailed in some tight games as well. All we can expect the team to do is to learn from each of those situations late in games and be better prepared next time we find ourselves in that position.

I feel like the Club made a bad decision getting rid of Vickery. We have nobody to support Jack. Why did we make that decision?

Tyrone was a restricted free agent at the end of last season. Hawthorn made him an offer that he accepted and, ultimately, the football department decided not to match it. List decisions on players that have been a part of our Club for such a long period are always difficult – as it was with Brett Deledio – but ultimately difficult decisions sometimes need to be made in the best interests of the Club and quite often the player.

I read about all the other wonderful things the Club does, but can we worry about football first and foremost?

Football performance is at the very core of our purpose. The Club exists to win games and to bring a Premiership to Punt Road. All the other “wonderful things” (as you refer to them) are integral to that purpose – they build a Club and a brand and, ultimately, a commercial return, that enables us to provide our football department with the facilities, equipment and personnel that they need to deliver on-field success. In our view, the two go hand-in-hand.

I have a major criticism and it is the colour of our jumper. I hesitate to call it yellow – it’s really lemon. The Tiger yellow has always been the colour of a Tiger, closer to egg yellow than bright yellow.

Thank you for your feedback on the colour of the jumper. The vast majority of fans whom I have spoken to like the vibrant yellow colour. We think that the colour reflects our mission to build a strong and bold football club and our vibrant guernsey is an illustration of that ambition. But, as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Last year we had an across-the-board review of football. What is happening now?

As I discussed last year, the review made a number of recommendations which the board asked Brendon Gale and Neil Balme to implement. Some of the changes could be quickly implemented while others required more time.The board receives progress reports at every monthly meeting. However, we never stop considering, analysing and evaluating the performance of football and the rest of the Club. The review was not a one-off exercise; the Club has always been committed to continuous improvement and that job is never completed.

As always, if you have any questions you would like to ask please do so at president@richmondfc.com.au