The turnover of senior staff and coaches has seen AFL clubs Melbourne and St Kilda post significant financial losses in 2013.
Melbourne’s losses totalled $3.1 million, $1.8 million of that directed towards payouts of sacked coach Mark Neeld and chief executive Cameron Schwab. Other key personnel changes saw development manager Chris Connelly and high performance director Neil Craig leave the Demons during the 2013 season.
The club’s part in an AFL-led tanking investigation also resulted in a $787,000 payout, $500,000 of that fines.
St Kilda posted a loss of $2.6 million, crashing down to low-placed finish after some impressive finals runs in recent years.
“Losing our first two matches of the season unfortunately saw membership stop abruptly at 32,748 which was 2705 members short of our 2012 figure,” president Peter Summers said in a club statement.
“With a 16th-place ladder finish, many other match-related activities experienced sizeable negative movement, which is not uncommon when team performance falls away as it did for us in 2013.”
The dismal of coach Scott Watters at a strange time during the AFL off-season also played a part in the Saints’ big loss, but a recently signed five-year deal to play ANZAC Day home games in New Zealand will net the club some major coin over the coming seasons.
Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney are the only two teams yet to hand in their 2013 financial reports, however Adelaide, Brisbane, Essendon and Port Adelaide (despite a huge on-field turnaround) all joined the Demons and Saints in posting losses over $1 million.
Get amongst CraveOnlineAU on Twitter and Facebook for daily sport, music, entertainment and gaming news.
Photo: Ryan Pierse, Getty Images
