Peggy O’Neal on why Brendon Gale will succeed with Tasmania Devils
Former Richmond president Peggy O’Neal has opened up on why Brendon Gale will be a success for the Tasmania Devils, detailing the strong traits she saw during their time at the Tigers.
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The same emotional connection which drove Brendon Gale to make Richmond an AFL powerhouse will drive him to create success for his home state as CEO of the Tasmania Devils according to former Tigers president Peggy O’Neal.
The pair reconnected at the In Her Boots event in celebration of International Women’s Day at Hobart’s MyState Bank Arena on Friday.
Gale, 244-game 209-goal Tiger, has only been in the Devils job a matter of weeks but already he has been on the phone to his former boss.
“I’ve gone from seeing him every day to on the phone, or to now in a different state and different circumstances,” O’Neal said.
“He has not called for advice and I’m not sure I could give him any.”
O’Neal has a deep understanding of the characteristics Gale will bring to the table for the Devils.
“The same things that made him a good CEO for Richmond over all those years I worked with him,” she said.
“He can identify great people to bring in, and he is a person of great judgement. He is someone who appreciates lots of types of people.
“He played football, he’s been of teams that had great success and then teams that didn’t quite achieve that.
“He knows how to put things together and he has the patience to make it happen. And besides that, he is a person of high values and he loves Tasmania.
“I think that emotion that brought him back to Richmond is the same kind of emotion that brought him to Tasmania.”
O’Neal was not at Richmond at the time, but was part of the panel which appointed Gale to the Tigers job.
“There were times along the way when I thought he might have been so stressed out that he might not last the course, but he did,” she said.
“All the way along he persevered because it meant a lot to him and I think that’s the emotional connection — it meant a lot more to him than just a job.”
The pair shared their own emotional moment and one of intense satisfaction during the 2017 AFL grand final on Richmond’s way to the premiership.
“At the start of the fourth quarter I was saying ‘we’ve won’, and he was saying ‘don’t jinx it’,” O’Neal said.
“Being at Richmond when we won a grand final after 37 years — I wasn’t there for the whole 37 years — but I was there long enough to know what it meant to people.
“And I still get stopped, because it brought so much happiness to so many people.
“I have a real appreciation of the breadth of the Tiger Army – I’ve been overseas and had people stop me.”
O’Neal was also impressed by the immediate impact of the Tasmania JackJumpers on the national stage, claiming the NBL championship last year.
“I think everyone was surprised they came out of the blocks so quickly, and the finals series last year was just so exciting,” she said.
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