Dear Members and Supporters,

I hope that you are staying safe and well in these difficult times. It seems that there is some light at the end of the tunnel and, hopefully, in season 2021 we can be back at the football together. I know that we all miss seeing our team, being with our friends and enjoying the comradery that we ordinarily share.

Off-field

As you all know, during our time in Queensland, several things have gone wrong off-field. To say that the entire Club was disappointed with what transpired last week would be an understatement.

Callum Coleman-Jones and Sydney Stack made a series of poor decisions that resulted in them being sent home and suspended for 10 matches, which was in addition to the $100,000 fine that was imposed and which will count against next year's soft cap. Their actions were unacceptable and completely at odds with what we stand for as a Club and, most importantly, they know that they have let you down.

Callum and Sydney are young men but nonetheless they are mature enough to understand the magnitude of their mistakes. Nothing excuses what happened, but as a Club we also have a responsibility to them and, if they are willing to do so, to help them learn from these mistakes and to become better people.  

Equally, I want to assure you these off-field incidents are not being ignored nor swept under the carpet. We have strong, experienced leaders across our Club, and within the playing group, and these issues have been acknowledged and are receiving much attention.

Many of you have contacted the Club to express your disappointment, concern and anger, which is totally understandable. Several of you have asked me whether the culture of the Club is at risk and whether these incidents are an indication that something is seriously wrong. In short, are we still the Club that you have supported and respected?

I always think that a reference to 'culture' is a reference to 'the way we do things around here'. I can assure you that the Club has built a strong culture on strong foundations; our culture is not flimsy. However, that does not mean that things won't go off course from time to time. All of us know that there are no guarantees that people will always act wisely or respectfully but the true measure of the culture of an organisation is how those errors are addressed. The capable management at our Club immediately went to work figuring out what went wrong, if anything more could have been done and what we can do to ensure that it doesn't happen again. Everyone is determined to regain your trust.

This Club has been committed to care and connection among players, staff and members over a long period of time. I know that this commitment has been a key to our recent success, but we must consistently and continually reflect that commitment. Everyone at the Club needs to epitomise our values, and any incident that lessens the pride our members have in the Club is a concern for me and the Board.

On-field

First, I would like to congratulate the AFL as well as all clubs and players, for the commitment and flexibility that has enabled this season to proceed. We have been confronted by many obstacles, but the shared resolve to deliver season 2020 should make the entire competition proud of its achievement. In what has been a bleak year in so many ways, I think that our members and supporters have appreciated having football to watch; I know that I have!

I want to congratulate our team for its tremendous resilience after an indifferent and injury-plagued start to the season. While it has been a difficult year, the entire football department has embraced the challenge. There is pressure that comes with being the defending Premier and the players – under the expert guidance of Damien Hardwick - are working harder than ever to defend the Club’s title.

We have had some significant injuries again this season but out of adversity has come opportunity, and it is wonderful to see some of our younger players such as Noah Balta, Jake Aarts, Oleg Markov and Mabior Chol make the most of their chances while Thomson Dow has experienced senior level football which will advance his development. The fact that we have still managed to be highly competitive this season with so many senior players missing is a tribute to our coaches, our fitness staff and our list managers. 

At the time of writing this, we are in the top four. I would like to take this opportunity to wish the players, and the coaching staff, the best of luck for the remainder of the home and away season and the upcoming finals. The entire Tiger Army is marching with you. For those lucky few who have been able to attend games across the country, thank you for your support and please sing the song loudly for those of us who aren't there.

Financials

The Board and management are currently considering our budget for next financial year. With so much uncertainty, this is no easy task. As I am sure all of you would expect, we will take a conservative view of what lies ahead. It is the responsible approach in the current environment.

We are in a good financial position thanks, in large part, to the unwavering support you and our sponsors provide. However, we face significant financial volatility as we move into next year, particularly in relation to our consumer business and the real potential for crowd size to be limited.

Beyond this, the AFL has flagged that the base distributions to all clubs will be significantly reduced, given the impact COVID-19 has had across our competition and, more generally, across all of sport. Combined, this could see a significant downturn in revenue that runs into many millions of dollars. We anticipate the knock-on effect of these financial challenges could ripple through to our 2022 budget. In many ways, the 2021 financial outlook is more difficult than what we have experienced in 2020.

As you would be aware, these initial 2021 projections have left us with no choice but to make some difficult personnel decisions. Sadly, many staff have been made redundant. This was a heartbreaking process that saw good people finish with the Club through no fault of their own.

We will not participate in the VFLW in 2021 and, while the details aren't yet known, the VFL program will be very different. Our priority must be providing the best support possible to our senior men’s and women’s teams within the financial parameters laid out by the AFL. These are not easy decisions and certainly not ideal. However, they are decisions we have had to make to ensure that we remain a strong, bold and highly competitive Club. We will keep doing what we think is right to ensure that the Club comes through the pandemic in the best shape possible.

Members

Our official membership tally for season 2020 was 100,420: an extraordinary result in an extraordinary year. Your loyalty is humbling and rest assured that we will do all we can to repay your faith. The next few weeks will be exciting as we enter the finals for the seventh time in the past eight years.  Enjoy the campaign!

Go Tigers.

Peggy O'Neal