Yze has backing of club, says CEO
Departing Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale has declared the club “150 per cent” behind one-win coach Adem Yze as he revealed he knew he was leaving halfway through 2023.
Richmond lost its 10th game in the past 14 by five goals or more as the Tigers suffered another trio of injuries in the club’s annus horribilis.
Yze lauded Richmond’s unprecedented stability when he signed on as the club’s replacement for Damien Hardwick.
But he lost triple premiership captain Trent Cotchin, recruiter Matthew Clarke, star Jack Riewoldt and arrived at a club that did not have a first-round pick in 2023. Ahead of what seems a significant rebuild, Gale said on Saturday he had told president John O’Rourke mid-2023 he would likely leave at the end of 2024 as part of the club’s refresh.
It is not known if Yze was aware Gale would also depart, with Richmond champion Matthew Richardson calling on O’Rourke to publicly speak about the club’s on-field plans for the future on Sunday.
Gale made clear across the weekend Richmond could not be more supportive of its coach.
“150 per cent (we are behind him). He’s a real feature of our club. We have a really strong sense of shared leadership. There is no one person. We have a great sense of alignment, all on the same page,” he said.
“We have great experience and capability in football, people like Blair Hartley and Tim Livingstone who are really invested in that appointment and they are elite operators.
“One person goes, another comes in but is that culture and leadership that endures and Adem has all the support he needs now and into the future.”