Richmond’s CEO, Brendon Gale, was one of the driving forces behind the introduction of the AFL’s free agency system, in his previous role as Chief Executive of the Players’ Association.
Despite now, in some respects, sitting on the other side of the football fence, Gale remains an advocate of free agency.
“I was really supportive of free agency because it’s about fairness,” Gale said on the latest “Talking Tigers” off-season special.
“Given a certain stage in a player’s career, I think they should have the opportunity to determine their own future.
“Fundamentally, that’s what free agency is all about.
“I’m sure there will be a review of this first year, and there might be some modifications, but, overall, I think it’s about fairness.”
With Gale’s intimate knowledge of how the free agency system worked, from his time with the AFLPA, Richmond was well prepared for its introduction.
“One of the advantages coming from the PA, was we were able to position ourselves as a club to take advantage of the rules,” he said.
“Craig (Cameron, the Club’s General Manager of Football) was all over it and the Blair Hartley appointment was a very important one . . . that was about contemplating free agency.
“He (Hartley) has had a couple of years, and he’s developed his own model.
“We’ve taken that to market and secured a couple of players (Chris Knights and Troy Chaplin), who are going to add value to our list.”
