Peggy O'Neal says Richmond Tigers have created their 'own history' with 2017 grand final win

September 30, 2017

Richmond president Peggy O’Neal has lauded the Tigers for creating their own history, having banished almost four decades of frustration with a stirring premiership win over the Adelaide Crows on Saturday.

O’Neal, who took charge in late 2013, was in tears before the final siren as the Tigers stormed to victory against an opponent overwhelmed by the Tigers’ pressure and speed.

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After a rocky start Richmond took control of the second-half, romping to a 48 point win.

As she stood back and watched her players celebrate in the rooms after the match, O’Neal said references to their last flag in 1980 and their last appearance in a grand final – 1982, when they were beaten by Carlton – could be put on the backburner.

“You accumulate your frustration in different kinds of ways but, as I said, we have made our own history today. We don’t have to talk about 1980 as our last premiership or 1982 failure,” she said.

“We just talk about we won, we won today, and we have got a premiership side and a premiership club. Here we are.”

The flag was reward for a board, executive, coaching list and group of players willing to change after the turmoil of 2016. O’Neal and her board faced a heated challenge from the “Focus on Football” ticket but retained control, changed and secured experienced football manager Neil Balme.

“That (board challenge) didn’t really define us. We were doing our own work on what we needed to change. That was a nuisance more than anything else. That didn’t have anything to do with where we are today,” she said.

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“It’s not one thing – it’s a lot of people doing a lot of things, and an accumulation of that, and people willing to look for new ideas.

“Damien (Hardwick) was willing to think: ‘What can I do to make it better? I am open to all kinds of new things’. Trent (Cotchin) wanted to connect with the players, everybody in the administration just put the team and the club above everyone else. We talk about that – the whole club is like a team now. They are really connected.”

O’Neal, the only female club president, said she felt nothing but pride and had been overwhelmed with what the week had meant to supporters.

“We won the qualifying final – I thought I would burst with pride. Then we won the preliminary, and I thought we would burst with pride. That was such a hard game,” she said.

“Then today I have no heart left. It’s just beyond me to express how I feel. The community and the supporters and (on Friday) after the grand final parade, I was walking back up Swan St, all these people wanted to tell me their stories.

You accumulate your frustration in different kinds of ways but, as I said, we have made our own history today.

“I realised I was taking on all this excitement from them. I was just about to collapse. I was just getting so overwhelmed with their emotion and my emotion. I needed to go inside and watch a movie for a couple of hours.”

She sat alongside chief executive Brendon Gale through the game, and both were reduced to tears. Gale, of course, had experienced years of darkness as a player at Punt Road.

“I am not stunned but it will take a little while before you can celebrate. It’s wonderful to see how happy everybody is,” O’Neal said.

“It just started to come all together towards the end of the season. We just kept playing better and better football and here we are. Once we won the qualifying final, I knew that we would be in the grand final.

“In my mind, I thought if they play the way they have been, they will win. I thought if we were anywhere near ’em (Adelaide) at half-time, we will win the last half and we were 10 points up at the half.”

The Tigers have long been a power club in terms of their size but have emerged in recent years as a financial behemoth. They are now also an on-field power.

Asked if the Tigers could be the No.1 club in Melbourne, O’Neal replied: “We think we already are. We are in all kinds of ways. You don’t measure it that way. You measure it in what you give back to your fans, and winning a premiership is an important thing to give back to fans.”

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