2018 Member Forum & Annual General Meeting (13 Feb)

[K]

[BazBoy]

Not that I�m a member but I do like all Collingwood supporters have things that happen at the club ( not that I can do anything) I wonder about

The decision to send the two boys to consult with Bayern Munich medico�was their condition in some doubt when they signed on to stay at Collingwood
or this it just a prudent decision

[Albert Parker]

Responding to some of the issues that you guys have raised

Apparently both Moore and Elliott are in good shape as things stand today.
Will be back inside the next week. Club doctor is with them in Munich.

We had 26 players coming out of contract at the end of 2018. I think we did well to hold on to those players that we did in the end. We'll slowly extend the contracts out of other players so that we don't have such a high proportion of the list coming due at the one time.

Yes, Lynden Dunn should be back in Rd 1. ACL's used to take more time to rehab because hamstring tendons were used. That left the hamstrings vulnerable and kept recovery time slower. Now they use quads and the leg is less vulnerable. Interestingly, Dunn's quad had to be trimmed in order to fit!

All elements of the Murphy review are slowly being worked through and incorporated into a longer-term plan/vision (out to 2025). Chris Thomas (Egon Zehnder) did a review on the board, tenor, application process, renewal, exec remuneration etc. That has seen some adjustments to salaries.

Happy to have extracted themselves from Pokies. Have signed on with Coles as their Community partner, which has relieved some of the revenue lost.

Some Medical staff are currently in the UK looking at conditioning, recovery etc. Kevin White has only had one year fully in charge and is still getting to know some of the players characteristics (do they play through injury and possibly risk more damage?) and how to manage things I think.

[Jezza]

First time I've attended the members forum. Really enjoyed listening to everyone and hearing members ask questions. For those who contemplate attending in future years, I would highly recommend it. Also it was great service by the club to provide refreshments for attendees before and after the event.

Eddie, Mark Anderson (CEO), Geoff Walsh (GM of Football) and Ned Guy (list manager) were all in attendance. In addition to them, Jeremy Howe was in attendance and briefly spoke along with AFLW players Chloe Molloy and Katie Lynch (she was drafted this year).

SUMMARY:

Eddie McGuire:
- He spoke from the heart and declared that this year was one of his most enjoyable years he's had as president and as a supporter.
- He admitted last year was a tough year but "we found our sense of humour again" and he wants us to be "the loudest and proudest team in the AFL".
- Was very upbeat and optimistic for the season ahead and is now looking forward to 2019.
- Believes that the 2018 season started from the final match against Melbourne last year and gave us confidence and self belief heading into 2018.
- Acknowledged that people have moved on from the club after 2017, but it was dignified rather than it being a 'bloodbath' reminiscent from decades ago.
- Season 2019 starts now.

Mark Anderson:
- He first discussed the motto that we used for the finals which is "for the faithful" and how the club wanted to reconnect and give back to the members and supporters.
- He admitted that there was a feeling last year that supporters were beginning to become disengaged with the club and the club needed to rectify and address this, with this motto being a component of that.
- In his powerpoint slides, he referred to the annual membership survey results comparing last year's results to this year and it was no surprise that membership satisfaction has increased in the past 12 months in various areas.
- The most notable increase was the category of 'overall satisfaction' which increased from 6.7/10 to 8.7/10 amongst all members who participated in the online survey.
- He also announced that we extended our stadium deal with the MCG for a further five years, and we've had a financial improvement of $2.8m.
- He didn't elaborate on specifics in relation to the finances, so more will be discussed at the AGM which is expected to be held in February next year.
- The club is happy to have removed the pokies as a revenue stream, and now have a community partnership with Coles to absorb the revenue losses.

Ned Guy:
- Categorically stated that 29 players were out of contract at the start of 2018.
- The key goal was retention.
- Very pleased that Langdon, Moore, Elliott and etc all re-signed with the club.
- Briefly discussed our trade strategy as well.
- Very pleased to have brought Dayne Beams home as he will provide greater midfield flexibility. He cited the example of De Goey playing through the middle in the Grand Final at various stages, but ideally we'd prefer to keep him in the forward line.
- Also stated that the recruitment of Roughead is important for depth purposes and he can play anywhere around the ground. He stated it would be a tough ask to expect Grundy to carry the same load as he did in 2018 leading into next year.
- Also touched upon the new Irish recruits, and believes they would have been highly rated had they gone to the draft.
- He stated that the 2019 draft doesn't have much KPP depth, hence it was part of the reason to recruit these two Irish boys.

Geoff Walsh did not speak.

Jeremy Howe:
- Still recovering from shoulder surgery.
- Won't return until January/February, but couldn't provide a specific date.
- He's now six weeks post-op.

All 1st to 4th year players have now returned to training starting from today, with all other players returning to training in two weeks time.

Member Questions:

Q1). Ticketing
- The member who asked the question believes that AFL members were disregarded for priority 3 tickets for the Grand Final?
- The club responded saying it's an AFL issue and out of the club's hands, though they are trying to get a better deal.
- In relation to preliminary final tickets, the club was well aware of the angst and frustration of high paying members who missed out on preliminary final tickets.
- The club stated they're having discussions with the AFL to ensure that members don't miss out on finals tickets especially for "blockbuster" matches.
- It's obvious that a lot complained about preliminary final ticketing access as the club addressed the issue without it being directly asked first.

Q2). How do we win Grand Finals? Should the club take risks?
- This member described himself as a 63 year old who's been barracking for the club since he was 7.
- Stated his GF win-loss record as a supporter has been atrocious, and is adamant that a meeting between Eddie, Mick and Bucks in 2009 was the reason why the club won the flag in 2010.
- He also asked whether Darcy Moore should have played in the Grand Final, but they said "no".
- Overall, it was more of a rant rather than a question than anything else.

Q3). Statue of Jock McHale?
- The member concerned believes that a statue of Jock McHale should be created outside the MCG.
- Eddie said that a statue of McHale and the Coventry brothers is "long overdue".

Q4). What is the objective of increasing membership as Richmond has reached 100,000 members?
- It's not just about numbers.
- The club is aspirational about increasing figures but it's important to stay connected with existing members.
- The current membership tally is up by 6000 compared to this time last year.

Q5). The question was directed specifically at Walsh asking "do you have confidence in the playing group to overcome failure"?
- My interpretation was that Walsh did not agree with the characterisation of our season being a "failure" so took exception to that part of the question.
- Unsurprisingly, he's confident that the club can take one more step forward and go all the way, but of course there's no guarantees as football is a ruthless business and every club is striving to improve.

Q6). AFLX - It was asked what the format of AFLx will be.
- Eddie said it will be an 'exhibition' of some sorts held over one night, but the details are very unclear, so not much was elaborated upon.

Q7). Sam Murray - b sample results?
- The club acknowledged they haven't received the results yet and it's a slow process.
- They've been given indications that the results might be released early next year, but it's still not clear.
- The CEO said the critical thing was that Sam will take up a rookie listed spot which will benefit the club and won't hurt us if the b sample results go against him.
- If the results go his way, he will play immediately.

Q8]. Darcy Moore - Is there any indication of why he was breaking down frequently?
- Both Darcy and Jamie Elliott are currently in Germany seeing a specialist who works for famous German soccer club, Bayern Munich.
- Both players were described as being "healthy and fit" at the moment by Walsh.
- The club wants to find ways to ensure that these recurring injuries don't keep coming back to bite us and possible ways and mechanisms of how to manage players who are as injury prone as these guys are.

Q9). What is the official Collingwood opinion on the best of 3 Grand Final system? Who's pushing it and what is it all about?
- Eddie described it as a 'cabal' between the interstate clubs who believe they have inequities.
- It's evident that everyone in the room thought it was a ridiculous concept.
- Eddie also said it doesn't make sense to introduce this format when we only scrapped the Grand Final Replay a year or two ago.
- Walsh further stated that the risk of injuries will increase if the best of 3 format is introduced.
- The club was strongly firm in being against the format.

Q10). What is the official Collingwood position on the time slot of the Grand Final?
- Most of the audience preferred the day slot, but Eddie was in favour of the twilight time slot.
- Acknowledged it has much to do with TV ratings and attendance than anything else.
- Going by the tone of his answer, a twilight Grand Final is an inevitable outcome at some point rather than a remote possibility.

Q11). With Collingwood being the 'home' team for the Queens Birthday clash next year, will the club continue the freeze MND campaign?
- Eddie was unequivocal in saying it will continue and has now become an entrenched feature of this annual fixture.
- He also said that the club was originally going to be the home team in 2018, but it gave Melbourne the option to be the home team this year, and we would have it next year as the fixture demonstrates.

Some audience members engaged in some general comments rather than asking specific questions.

[ip address]

Jezza,
Thank you for your very comprehensive report. Much appreciated.

[themonk]

No KPP in draft yet Lynch was a free agent.

Did anyone ask why Richmond were into him before us?

[BazBoy]

Thanks and it was interesting the Darcy �Jamie to Germany only just came to light

Good to ask about such issues

[MrsBuckley5]

Congratulations, Jezza. I was there and you have nailed it all in one email/text.

Side by Side and Floreat Pica 2019.

[MatthewBoydFanClub]

Noticed after the meeting a few supporters talking to Ned Guy. Did he give anything away as to who we're drafting Thursday night? Is it a lock in that we're getting Quaynor and Will Kelly?

[BazBoy]

What was the general opion of all members who post here as to the meeting

Was it transparent and well explained

[think positive]

cheers Jezza, good stuff

[RudeBoy]

Thanks Jezza. Much appreciated.

[Dr Pie]

I couldn't make the meeting this time and I too congratulate Jezza on his excellent report. Thanks, mate.

[watt price tully]

Terrific stuff Jezza. Thank you

[K]

Thanks, AP & Jezza. That was spectacular, Jezza; we must make sure you attend the AGM!