Why manager Ralph Carr is the Jerry Maguire of footy 

by Mark Robinson June 25, 2021

Ralph Carr has a hint of Jerry Maguire about him, running a boutique management company which has Dustin Martin as its No. 1 client. He chats to Mark Robinson. 

Responsible for a swag of Richmond footballers, Carr opens up on his work ethic, what he expects from his players and those comparisons to Jerry Maguire. 

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MR: RCM Sport is a boutique management company. What is boutique? 

RC: Being boutique grants me the capacity to provide higher quality, personal care to clients. It’s all about quality over quantity. I can see to my clients personally, rather than running through a filtration system. Often times elite athletes need to be in a space they feel safe enough to confide and work through a dynamic array of circumstances. By being boutique, I offer this space and can spend quality time with my clients. 

MR: Kate Ceberano once said of you: “He has incredible work ethic and would take a bullet for an artist he really believes in.’’ What does she mean by bullet? 

RC: I assume, like most artists, they want to feel protected. I hope that’s what I did for Dustin Martin in 2017 when I shielded him from most of the ancillary noise and had his focus on playing great footy. You’d have to ask Kate but I assume she felt very protected … Kate was a special person to work for. 

MR: Where did you grow up, Ralph? 

RC: I grew up in North Fitzroy and attended the Alfred Crescent State School. Then we moved to the northern suburbs. I also had a run for the Carton thirds, believe or not. 

MR: As a nippy rover or nuggety back pocket? 

RC: A tough little onballer they called me. 

MR: How tough? 

RC: I was golden gloves champion at 14 or 15. My uncle was training all the boxing champions, Olympians and he played for Carlton as well. Tommy Altamura was his name. 

Dustin Martin and manager Ralph Carr after the 2019 AFL Grand Final. Picture: Mark Stewart 

MR: As a music manager, did you live the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle? 

RC: No. I still do the same things now as I did then. I’m up at 5am or 6am every morning, I love going for a run and I do that seven days a week. I do two workouts a day. So, no I didn’t live the rock lifestyle. To me it was business. I enjoyed the ride and I enjoyed the music, but I never really lived the lifestyle they lived. 

MR: Justin Leppitsch recently said of you that you were a highly regarded coach/manager to your players. How did that resonate with you? 

RC: It felt great. I have a lot of respect for Justin. To get endorsed by someone like him is nice. As a manager, you often don’t get pats on the back and it’s good to get one every now and then I suppose. 

MR: Your knowledge of football must be sound and does that allow you to be pretty up front with your players? 

RC: My footy knowledge is pretty good. There was a pivotal moment 10 years ago. I used to do a lot of training with Barry Mitchell, Tom’s father, and his footy brain was amazing. We used to talk footy a lot. That gave me confidence and that was roundabout the time I started with Dusty. I didn’t want to cross any lines with the coaches, however I wanted to tell my players what I thought of their game, how they were preparing, and whether they were doing the right things off-season. 

MR: So, you’re a home truths kind of manager? 

RC: Yes. That’s what happens when you work with us. If you don’t want to abide by those rules, or don’t want to become a professional athlete, or search your maximum potential then we’re the wrong company for you. 

Daniel Rioli and teammate Shai Bolton are both with Ralph Carr. 

Geelong’s Quinton Narkle is a super talented man, says Carr. 

MR: Who are your AFL clients? 

RC: Dustin Martin, Shai Bolton, Quinton Narkle, Mabior Chol and Daniel Rioli. Funnily enough, being Richmond heavy was entirely unplanned, it happened organically. 

MR: How have you been able to brand Dusty when he is a guy who doesn’t talk in depth to the media? 

RC: I don’t think it’s necessary for a start. In today’s world with social media, you have the reach. People often ask me that question, but James Dean didn’t speak a lot and was very successful. I don’t think he did any interviews. Brad Pitt didn’t do an interview for 10 years and it didn’t make any difference to his success. 

MR: Shai Bolton is 22, is out of contract at the end of the season and is a star. How do you determine what he is worth at Richmond against what he’s worth on the open market? 

RC: I’m not speaking for Shai here because his decision was to make the decision at the end of the year and we will weigh up all the options. However, my view is, if any player joins the club and they do all the hard yards from when you are 17, and you play good footy and win two premierships and then you decide to leave … I don’t know if that works for me as a businessman. 

MR: You preach loyalty above financial opportunity? 

RC: There’s a balance. Opportunity comes into it, but loyalty is very important. I said this when we were exploring opportunities for Dustin … do people explore other work places? This a job, this is their career. If your career is earning X amount and you could go over there and earn more, why wouldn’t you explore that? 

MR: How hands on were you when Bolton and Rioli were involved in the nightclub incident? 

RC: Very hands on. We needed the club and AFL to understand what happened. My favourite saying is, if you tell the truth you don’t need to remember anything. We sought the truth, we spoke to the club. I was very involved there and in speaking to the AFL. They are terrific kids and it was just a terrible situation they were put in. 

MR: Do you accept there is curiosity about the $20,000 donation? 

RC: I don’t really want to go into that. However, it was an unfortunate situation. It was an incorrect action. We’ve all made mistakes in our lives and we have to learn from our mistakes and move on. 

MR: How do you handle a young fella like Narkle who is in and out of Geelong’s team and looking for regular opportunity? 

RC: He’s a super talented man, he just needed some support and love. I speak to him regularly. He could be anything, but do I think we have improvement in him? Yes, we do. The fact he is in and out is because of the Geelong team and their midfield. We accept that, that’s football, he just has to keep playing great football. 

MR: That said, does he have to weigh up his future at Geelong? 

RC: I think so. 

MR: What does a typical Ralph Carr day looks like 

RC: One of the great parts of this industry is that, like the music industry, there isn’t what you’d call a typical day. There is differentiation in everything I do. If I’m to manage my athletes in the best way possible, I’m required to be extremely dynamic. My role as a sports manager is to ensure I make it easy for my client to focus on winning. Their time and energy need to be condensed to their athleticism and their sport; not the business side of things. Unlike an agent, a sports manager has more refined attention to detail. 

Ralph Carr works around the clock but still finds time to hit the running track at first light. 

MR: Richmond would be thankful of you. 

RC: No I am thankful to the Richmond FC. Blair Hartley (Tigers’ football management) gave me a very special moment this year. He called me one day and he said I had to see him. I said I couldn’t because I had so much on. He stressed he had to see me, that it would take 10 minutes. I was annoyed because I had all this other stuff to do. Anyway, Blair walks in with the premiership cup, puts it on the desk, and says, ‘We wouldn’t have got this without your help, I just wanted to come over and share it with you, you hold it’ and he spoke about what we did. That’s what makes Richmond FC a great organisation. To me that’s my job. My job is to work with everyone. I don’t see the club or the AFL as the enemy, or the media. I see it as we’re all in this together. … and they see a guy who cares about the player, the person and the goal, which is to win a flag. 

MR: You’ve been described before as the Jerry Maguire of the AFL. Proud of that moniker? 

RC: That’s high praise. That’s me I suppose … We’ve got to live up to that I would think and our results will need to reflect that. When I take on clients, even going back to the early days with Kate Ceberano, Vanessa Amorosi or Tina Arena, I felt this incredible weight on my shoulders, a responsibility to deliver on all fronts. And I still feel that. I still feel every day I’m chasing 

something. I don‘t know what I’m chasing, but I suppose that’s the passion and drive in me and when that stops I will stop what I’m doing. 

MR: How do you think the AFL world perceives you? 

RC: I don’t think too heavily about how I’m perceived. What’s most important is how I manage my clients and ensure I do the best I can to support them and the public’s perception of them. It’s known across the industry that I come from a music/entertainment background more so than sport. I’m probably viewed as a tough negotiator, however I feel as though that’s far from the truth. 

MR: Describe yourself, Ralph? 

RC: I’m diplomatic in my decision making. I certainly try to consider the position from both sides; player and club. I’ve served on the board of Carlton for three years and I very much respect the clubs’ positions and understand the challenges that they can go through. 

MR: People would describe you as unique, maybe eccentric. Fair? 

RC: I think I am unique because I’m a creative animal. I love what I do. There are plenty of football agents, but I’m a manager, it’s a different thing. 

MR: You are from the entertainment world primarily, but why sport? 

RC: I love sport. Often times, sports stars are perceived exactly like rock stars. From the beginning of entering the sports industry, I could see the expansion into branding. I wanted to work with people I felt could be champions in their sport. The day I met Dustin Martin, I could see he could be exactly that. Martin transcends his sport. Once you’ve achieved this, you become a star and can do almost anything. After all, isn’t sport entertainment? Dustin Martin has it the “IT’’ factor. That thing, that star quality. 

MR: You love him, don’t you? 

RC: Yes I do. We’re the best of friends and I feel grateful and blessed I’ve been on the journey with him. He’s a beautiful human being, a caring person, and generous. At times, Shane Martin doesn’t get a lot of credit. He’s been a big part of Dustin’s success. 

Carr says Mabior Chol is a clever individual. Picture: Jake Nowakowski 

MR: How do you secure clients? 

RC: I don’t chase clients as a rule. I’m a specialised manager who seeks to provide a personable, strategised and luminary experience for each of my clients. I have a visionary mindset when it comes to my clients and if they’re searching for more, they’ll approach me. 

MR: Have you refused players who want you to be their manager? 

RC: Yes. I’ve met with very high-profile players who weren’t able to accept there was going to be another team player apart from the club and his family, another guy telling him, “This is what we have to do to be successful”. I’ll push my players to get the best out of themselves because as players you don’t want any regret after you’ve finished. If you give it 100 per cent, after footy there will be no regrets. 

MR: How many regrets do you have in life? 

RC: I never look in the rear view mirror. If I think about it, yes, there would be regrets, but I don’t think about it. I’m a forward thinker. So, what’s next? 

THE PLAYERS 

DUSTIN MARTIN 

There’s a fire which burns inside this kid. There’s a raging bull. He is a gentleman, loyal and a beautiful person, but when he pulls on that guernsey, he’s a raging bull. 

DANIEL RIOLI 

Just a loveable person … quietly driven 

QUINTON NARKLE 

Determined person who has incredible talent and future. 

MABIOR CHOL 

Could be anything! Funny and clever. 

SHAI BOLTON 

Respectful, quiet, funny, star, future superstar of the AFL.