Brendon Gale

Brendon Gale (born 18 July 1968) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Brendon Gale
Gale in his role as club CEO at the unfurling of Richmond's 2017 AFL Premiership flag.
Personal information
Date of birth (1968-07-18) 18 July 1968
Place of birth Burnie, Tasmania
Original team(s) Burnie Hawks
Draft No. 27, 1987 national draft
Debut Round 1, 31 March 1990, Richmond vs. Brisbane, at Carrara Stadium
Height 198 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Weight 102 kg (225 lb)
Position(s) Centre Half-Forward / Ruckman
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1990–2001 Richmond 244 (209)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2001.
Career highlights
  • Tasmanian Representative Games:- 4
  • Richmond Life Member 1997
  • Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame (Legend)
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

As a qualified lawyer, he practised law with a commercial law firm for some time after his retirement from football, and then served as CEO of the AFL Players' Association from 2005 to 2009. In 2009, he began what would become a successful 15-year stint as CEO of Richmond, overseeing three premierships. In 2024, it was announced that he would be leaving Richmond to become inaugural CEO of the incoming Tasmania Football Club.

Early life and education

Brendon Gale was born on 18 July 1968.[1]

He studied at Monash University in Melbourne, graduating with Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Arts degrees.[2]

Playing career

Gale played for the Richmond Football Club from 1990 to 2001 as a centre half-forward and later ruckman. For five seasons he played alongside his older brother, Michael, who transferred from the Fitzroy Football Club at the end of the 1993 season. Brendon was appointed vice-captain of the club between 1994 and 1997. Their father, Don Gale, was a champion Tasmanian footballer who became the first player from the NWFU to achieve All Australian selection. Their grandfather, Jack Gale, played three games for Richmond in 1924.

For a period during his playing days Gale played guitar in a small band called Trial By Video, which included other footballers Mark Zanotti, Tony Woods, and Paul Bulluss.[3]

Post-football career

After his AFL playing career, Gale practised law with commercial law firm King Wood Mallesons, until serving as chief executive officer of the AFL Players' Association from 2005 to 2009.[4][2]

He was also a member of the AFL's "Laws of the Game" or Rules Committee.

In 2009, he was appointed CEO of Richmond, leading over 150 people. Under his leadership, the team's Punt Road Oval headquarters was transformed into a high-performance facility, with the club growing extensively both commercially and in fan numbers. It has been competing in most of the AFL finals series, and won the Premiership in 2017.[2]

On 10 May 2024, Gale announced his departure as the CEO of Richmond Football Club at the end of the 2024 season. The same day, Tasmania Football Club announced his appointment as their inaugural CEO, commencing in the role in 2025.[5]

Other activities

Gale is a director on several boards, and advocates for diversity. From 2009 until 2013, he served on the board of the Victorian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, and has been involved in the "Male Champions of Change" program.[2]

In media

Gale features in the 2021 fly-on-the-wall documentary TV series Making Their Mark, which showed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on several AFL clubs, players, and staff.[6][7] Players Nic Naitanui, Eddie Betts, Stephen Coniglio, and Rory Sloane were featured, as well as Gold Coast Suns football club coach Stuart Dew, and staff leaders Peggy O'Neal, Damien Hardwick, and Gale.[8][9]

Statistics

Player statistics for Brendon Gale:[1]

Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
H/O
 Hit-outs
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T H/O G B K H D M T H/O
1990Richmond25 2221221507522510024141.01.06.83.410.24.51.10.6
1991Richmond25 21161515910426311816390.80.77.65.012.55.60.81.9
1992Richmond25 187916211227410315510.40.59.06.215.25.70.82.8
1993Richmond25 1626211629125313410641.61.310.15.715.88.40.64.0
1994Richmond25 21272419110129214414621.31.19.14.813.96.90.73.0
1995Richmond25 24301521095305133281171.30.68.84.012.75.51.24.9
1996Richmond25 2234251788826612920421.51.18.14.012.15.90.91.9
1997Richmond25 1912816893261102262060.60.48.84.913.75.41.410.8
1998Richmond25 2141191144335128223930.20.09.16.916.06.11.018.7
1999Richmond25 18631377721493172970.30.27.64.311.95.20.916.5
2000Richmond25 2022316586251107152391.10.28.34.312.65.40.812.0
2001Richmond25 224110214925192243080.20.04.66.811.44.21.114.0
Career 244209147197512153190138323118320.90.68.15.013.15.70.97.5

References
  1. "Brendon Gale". AFL Tables. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  2. "Brendon Gale". Alumni. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  3. "Gale on The Front Bar" (Video). richmondfc.com.au. Seven Network. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  4. Ryan, Peter (17 March 2011). "Breaking the cycle". Richmond Football Club.
  5. "Club appoints Brendon Gale as inaugural CEO". Tasmania FC. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  6. Bilton, Dean (16 March 2021). "Making Their Mark, Amazon's AFL documentary, offers genuine insight into the faults and fears of modern professional athletes". ABC News. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  7. Baum, Greg (9 March 2021). "AFL 2021: Amazon documentary reveals the tension of Richmond Tigers' premiership season". The Age. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  8. Knox, David (15 February 2021). "Making Their Mark: trailer". TV Tonight. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  9. "Richmond president won't set expectations of another Tiger flag in 2021". 3AW. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2024.

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