Obviously, the contract extensions that Richmond have just completed with Trent Cotchin, Jack Riewoldt and Alex Rance were arranged with Tom Lynch in mind.
That the Tigers’ three leaders have signed new deals, all within a matter of weeks, is not a coincidence. To make room for Lynch, the club has gone to their most senior players and asked for help.
Team men: Trent Cotchin (left) and Jack Riewoldt.
But Lynch isn’t the only factor in the financial sacrifices — however large – that Cotchin, Riewoldt and Rance have made.
The Tigers maintain that they don’t know if Lynch is coming to them and that, regardless of whether he does (as many of us think likely), they had other reasons for seeking the assistance of their captain and his two deputies.
Richmond have just secured Jayden Short on a new two-year deal. His improvement this year has been among the reasons why the premiers have booted clear of the congested pack.
Overall, the emerging theme of Richmond in 2018 has been their transition from a team that relied enormously on their ‘‘Beatles’’ – the three leaders, plus Dustin Martin – to one that often wins without one player standing out, and with an increasingly even spread of output. In their victory over Collingwood, no player had more than 22 disposals, while the Pies had three with more than 30.
So, the restructuring of three Beatles’ contracts has been done with two agendas in mind: recruitment and retention.
The middle and bottom tiers have a greater share of Richmond’s GOP (Gross On-field Product) and it is natural that this will be – eventually – reflected in the payments structure. Nick Vlastuin and Dylan Grimes have become potential All-Australians this year; it’s arguable that they’re already pushing into an enlarged top tier.
So, the restructuring of three Beatles’ contracts has been done with two agendas in mind: recruitment (Lynch or someone else next year) and retention. The broader goal, naturally, is to remain in contention for as long as possible and this cannot be managed without ‘‘buy in’’ – another of footy’s new cliches – from the officer class.
The upshot of the rearranged contracts for Cotchin, Riewoldt and Rance is that they’ve been given longer terms in return for letting the club ‘‘smooth out’’ the next year or two. While they won’t go hungry and are still highly paid, they haven’t gone to the marketplace in an attempt to maximise their earnings – as Dusty (who hitherto had been underpaid) did last year.
While they’ve never drawn comparisons with other clubs, the Tigers wouldn’t want to land Lynch and then lose a raft of players and/or relinquish the capacity to recruit anyone of note, which was what happened to the Swans after they’d landed Lance Franklin on a monster deal shortly after Kurt Tippett. Sydney’s list subsequently suffered some erosion of senior talent and the Swans, clearly, were hurt by the AFL removing the cost of living allowance.
In demand: The Tigers remain a frontrunner for Tom Lynch’s services.
Richmond is following the path trod by Hawthorn and before that, Geelong, which managed to keep super lists largely intact, excepting the well-timed exits of Buddy and Gary Ablett. Luke Hodge and Sam Mitchell played for below market rates in their twilights, while the Cats had a relatively narrow gap among their top 10 to 12 players in their 2007-2011 zenith.
Nothing defines the culture of a playing group more than the willingness to give up some money for their teammates and success. Players who do so are usually also willing to make other sacrifices in their lifestyles; it is not a big deal to give up the grog or to stop eating KFC once you’ve agreed to play for $200,000 less than North or St Kilda offered.
The teams that remain at or near the top are those that have leaders who don’t seek to get the very best deals for themselves.
It is an attitude, too, that tends to trickle down.
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