Richmond's embattled coach announced his resignation today. Frawley to leave Tigers -- afl.com.au Frawley to stand down -- foxsports.news.com.au, via AAP Danny Frawley won't be back at Punt Road next year, but will see out the remainder of the current season. My wife and I met Danny and his lovely wife Anita at an AFL function at Telstra Dome a couple of months ago, and they are genuinely nice people. However, that doesn't always translate into results, and with the Tigers' lone finals run in 2001 being Frawley's lone success during his tenure there, the 40-year-old Frawley looks certain to be retiring at least temporarily to his hometown in Bungaree (in country Victoria, near Ballarat in the Central Highlands). After Gary Ayres' ouster at Adelaide last week, the dominoes resembling under-fire coaches in the AFL are clearly beginning to fall.
Also, Frawley will speak at a Richmond press conference at 4:30 local (Melbourne) time here, and Fox Footy will have it live. I'll be watching it here, and mentioning any hot talking points as needed...
Danny Frawley was always going to be in trouble if Richmond didn't have some success this season. His record at Tigerland isn't great, but then he hasn't had the quality of players he needed to be successful. I pity the next person to coach Richmond, and the next, and the next, and the next....
I thought they did a fair job of collecting a few more quality players. They got off to a decent start but...as usual, have faded badly. Anytime you try to build your success around a player as mercurial as Richo, you're going to be in trouble.
The problem with Richmond is a couple of things, and I dont think Richo is one of them. Firstly, they've adopted a policy of trading away their top draft picks for players from other clubs which means they aren't getting any of the best young players to their club. Now this would be ok if you've got a young side already and need to recruit a couple of experienced players, or if you're near the top and need a couple of players for extra depth, and only for a couple of years at the most. Richmond have been trading away their picks for a number of years now, and wonder why most of their players are hacks or rejects from other clubs. They're going nowhere, and fast! The other thing is their culture is one that turns very quickly when things don't go right. Their supporters turn on their own quicker then you can say "Richo is a wussy girl" and that's not good for any club, let alone one that's only made the finals 3 times since 1980. Add to that their board is always fighting and constantly going through changes of personel, and the fact they're expecting to lose 2 million dollars this season, and you get a club that needs to make some serious decisions about where they're going in this competition.
Tuesday morning's articles in the Melbourne papers, in the aftermath of yesterday's news from Punt Road... Eade tipped for Frawley's job -- The Age Failure to make finals seals Frawley's fate -- The Age "One hell of a ride" -- Caroline Wilson column, in The Age Dignity upheld as Frawley goes -- Greg Baum column in The Age Tigers hunt wide for new coach -- The Herald Sun Frawley: We'll have crack -- The Herald Sun Wallace in market -- The Herald Sun Players' turn to feel heat -- The Herald Sun Danny's days at Punt Rd -- The Herald Sun Spud's career stats -- The Herald Sun