AGM Report

[Enrico_Misso]

Held at the Moorabbin Clown Hall
Well in a little overcrowded room up in the attic.
Was almost as hot as the Riva sponsorship function the night before.

Part 1 - The Presidential Address
(I'll leave out all the Presidential "rights?" - Right!)

Westaway welcomed everyone.
Introduced two new "heavyweight" directors
- Ian McLeod CEO Coles and former Celtic and Fulham executive/board member
- Peter Summers from AV Jennings

Profit = $177k
Income up $565k
2009 membership 33522 = a record
2010 membership already 28500
2009 filled 11,500 SC membership allocation with a waiting list
An AFL record of 93% of SC members took up their right to a GF ticket (ticket - not seat)
2009 merchandise >$1m for first time since 2005
Robert Harvey matchday room generated $292k
New Docklands deal will generate $5.5m pa to share amongst the clubs.
So the higher our attendances the bigger the share we will get.
Seaford construction commenced in August and is on track to finish this year.
Will give us first class amenities.
Westaway is very proud of the 2009 performance.
Also pleased that expenditure on the Football Dept reached $15.2m in 2009 which puts us midrange.
Pleased that Ross' contract has been extended for 3 more years.
Pleased that key players have been signed up for long terms like Roo, Sam Fisher, BG, Lenny and Gilbo.
Coaching panel retained and augmented with Brian Royal (Dev Mgr) and Greg Hutchinson.

Life Membership
1) Bakes
2) Racehorse (Neil Besanko)

General business concluded with some technicalities relating to the Auditors, Grant Thorton, changing their corporate structure.

Part 2 - The Coach's address to follow ...

[El Wood]

I counted - he said the word "right" 30 times.

[Enrico_Misso]

I counted - he said the word "right" 30 times.

Right!

[saint66au]

Great work EM...they have free WiFi there or are you donating your 3G time to keep us informed??

Thanks heaps either way!!

[Enrico_Misso]

Part 2 The Coach

Ross thanked everyone for their support.
Thanked the club for the opportunity to continue coaching this group.
Mentioned that after 2008 we were well short of the mark after losing badly to Geel and Hawth in the finals.
His aim for 2009 was bridge that gap.
To lift us from being good to being great.
By improving our contested footy, our attack and our defence.
We achieved all that.
But fell short of the ultimate success.
He paid particular and lengthy tribute to Max and what a great player he was for so long.
Whilst it didn't end ideally for Max it was always about trying to win the flag.
Ross pointed out that only 15 of the 38 players on the list when he started now remain.
Some had retired, some moved on, and some didn't measure up.
That is the nature of this business.
The current group are loyal and committed to give their best effort.
He praised their approach to 2010.
Particularly their desire and effort and energy led by Lenny and Nick.
We are in better shape now than we were this time last year.
Now is the time for actions.
He wants us to be strong club and secure our future in Melbourne.
And this year he wants to go one step further.


Westaway then called for questions, but first made it clear that there would be no discussion or questions taken about Andrew Lovett.
He did point out that AL is on full pay, is being supervised by the club in terms of weight training, fitness, sprints, he is time trialled each week, and receives weekly briefings on tactics from coaching staff.

Part 3 - Questions to follow ...

[bigred]

Very interesting...

[Stephen Theodore]

Thanks heaps EM. Much appreciated.

[JMsainter]

Yes, some mixed messages there. Ross stated that it was up to Peake to stand up, which basically says AL will never play for us. Yet the club is monitoring his training; which suggests otherwise. Are they just going through the motions and meeting their contractual obligations?

[cowboy18]

Thanks for those, much appreciated. Strong words from Ross.

[Dr Spaceman]

Yes, some mixed messages there. Ross stated that it was up to Peake to stand up, which basically says AL will never play for us. Yet the club is monitoring his training; which suggests otherwise. Are they just going through the motions and meeting their contractual obligations?

I think it's a case of needing to prepare for the season without AL (therefore Peake and others need to stand up) while at the same time ensuring that AL is fit to resume if the cards ultimately fall his way (and of course ensuring we meet any legal obligations). That's the way I read it. We can't be a week out from the NAB Cup and be concerned about whether or not AL will be playing for us.

[saint66au]

RL has said from the day Peake was drafted that he has work to do if he wants to be a part of our best 22

The fitness etc ties that we are keeping with AL suggest to me that we still have to entertain having him back

[Eastern]

Enrico_Misso, you deserve a medal for your efforts.

We are a bit strapped for cash at the moment so all we can do is shape a stubbie top for you to show our appreciation of your efforts !!

[Enrico_Misso]

Part 3 - Questions from the floor

Q1) Foundation SC members were led to believe that that entitled them to GF seats - why were they shafted?
GW - AFL is to blame.
They manage the process and won't allow an extra tier.
GW claimed one of the reasons the old board was replaced was because of the handling of this.
Claimed that the allocation process is out of their hands.
For example two of the directors were allocated standing room tickets and Gidanski got tickets two rows from the back.
Referred to the fact that the club spent $60-$70k trying to secure seat allocations to elderly members [EM - not sure what he meant by that].
Nettlefold pointed out that giving Foundation members priority created other issues as then FM's could not get seats with children/family/friends who are not FMs.
No easy solution.
Supp quest Why not cap the SC at the number of allocated GF seats?
[question not really answered]



Q2) Don't forget to recognise the Cheer Squad's voluntary work!
Why did the club introduce "Sept Saints"?
This just encouraged scalping.
Was it just a revenue raiser? It denied ordinary poorer members an opportunity.
Ordinary members at Geel get a small allocation via a ballot - our ordinary members would prefer even a 50-1 chance in a ballot.


GW apologised and promised to acknowledge the cheer squad in future.
It was pointed out that Sep Saints had to be members so scalping is not an issue.
GW emphasised the club was not happy with the allocation process, had complained to the AFL, and will try to work with them to ensure changes.



Q3) The Dec 17th SC deadline to renew sounded very threatening.
Also disappointing that long time members were treated poorly and did not get seats.

GW said the Dec 17th date was a bit tight.
Nettlefold pointed out it was extended.
There was an issue with the printer meeting the deadline.
Again it was pointed out that the ticket allocation process was out of their hands.
Ross Levine said he was aware of the seats/standing issues and said he had read all the comments on Saintsational.


More to come

[Dr Spaceman]

I would like to add my thanks to EM also. Great work keeping those of us who are unable to attend well informed.

[SainterK]

Thanks EM, very detailed report

[satchmo]

Ross Levine said he was aware of the seats/standing issues and said he had read all the comments on Saintsational.

Did he use the expression..."flowering..."?

[Enrico_Misso]

More questions …

Q4) "Dave" [EM Was he jiggling?]
Congrats to the club. I am just wrapt to be at the GF. I think the club managed a very difficult situation really well.
Those criticising the club should look in the mirror.

GW - thanks for the praise though can we have questions rather than statements!




Q5) "Graham" Is the solution to not allocate 1500 seats to each of the other 14 clubs?
GW - suggest that to the AFL.



Q6) "Helen" What happened to the supporter bus from Moorabbin?
Happy to pay in advance. Essendon run one from the eastern suburbs and advertise in the record.
Why cant we?
MN - happy to look at it if you contact me
GW - (interrupting) I promise it will return


Q7) Thanks for the community days. Can we reinstate the Country days?
Is was all at short notice but they hope to do more in the future to build up support in the peninsula (as per Haw in Tasmania).


Q8) "Graham" Concerned about us not training in the wet (using the basketball court instead) or playing in the wet eg Docklands.
This contributed to the GF loss.
Andrew Thompson - the basketball court trainings are a thing of the past.
Last year, whilst being very good at Docklands, we won everywhere in all conditions.
This was not a factor in the GF loss.


Q9) Seaford facility will impact on local traffic.
GW - it is a training facility and few public events will be scheduled there.

Q10) "David" (ex Frankston mayor) Was there a traffic management study done at Seaford?
Yes, and part of the building is to introduce a slip lane entrance to the facility bypassing the local streets.


End of questions
End of Report

[Enrico_Misso]

Sorry if I missed any questions or misquoted anyone.
I think I got the "gist" of it.
But happy for anyone else who was there to correct or clarify.
Regards,
Enrico.

[Enrico_Misso]

PS didn't spot any aged hippies there this year

[chook23]

Thanks for your efforts EM

[saint66au]

Ross Levine said he was aware of the seats/standing issues and said he had read all the comments on Saintsational.

LOL....what was the reaction from the floor when he mentioned the site?

Rapt he gave the AFL a bake for the GF ticketing mess..Ive said long and hard the whole time that the Club had their hands tied with a lot of it

Hopefully we will have cause to experience improvement often in the future!!

Great work EM..nice to see the site being used for goodness instead or rotten-ness for a change

[Teflon]

Enrico - much appreciated.

[SainterK]

I can verify that I have watched a few training sessions from under my umbrella before

[saint66au]

How many there roughly?

[barks4eva]

Ross Levine said he was aware of the seats/standing issues and said he had read all the comments on Saintsational.


Ross is a good man, his family has a long history with the St kilda football club and I look forward to giving him a big hug on Grand Final night!


Thanks EM, great report, very much appreciated!