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Former Western Force and Wallabies hooker Brendan Cannon yesterday stated that the Rebels lacked star quality and that Rod Macqueen is “ten years out of the game”. Brendan is entitled to his opinion. However, so are we.
Brendan was the first player signed by the Western Force in 2006. It may be safe to assume that Brendan is basing his opinion on the template used by the Western Force in their first year. However, the Perth and Melbourne sporting markets are completely different, something Brendan fails to recognize.
Let’s examine the two markets, in terms of football.
Perth
AFL – West Coast and Fremantle.
A League – Perth Glory
.
Super Rugby – Western Force
Melbourne
AFL – Melbourne, North Melbourne, Richmond, Essendon, Collingwood, St Kilda, Carlton, Western Bulldogs, Hawthorn.
A League – Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart.
NRL – Melbourne Storm.
Super Rugby – Rebels.
It’s easy to see that the Melbourne/Victorian sporting market is much more complex then that of Perth.
The majority of the sporting teams in Perth have been established in the last 20 years. However, in Melbourne, the majority of the AFL clubs have been in existence for over 100 years. The Storm was established in 1998 and have won three premierships (regardless of NRL penalties).
While Melbourne Victory has been in existence since 2004, achieving the highest attendance record in the A-League, twice premiers and champions.
The market here can also be brutal, take for example the North Melbourne Kangaroos AFL club.
After dominating much of the 90s, and winning two premierships (1996, 1999) they now have the lowest members in the AFL, and one of the most appalling attendance records.
To survive in the sporting market here, you must be successful.
This might give credence to his argument that we lack a star quality. However, if you lack knowledge of rugby (especially the players), people won’t care who Danny Cipriani, Stirling Mortlock or Laurie Weeks is.
The most important fact to the everyday sports supporter is seeing the Rebels win.
The rugby supporter, on the other hand, can recognize the dichotomy here, to be successful, yet lay the ground work, a pathway for aspiring Victorian rugby players.
It might be easy to label the Rebels “Dad’s Army”, considering the majority of the players are in the 27-30 years of age bracket.
However, you can’t over look players such as Laurie Weeks, Jarrod Saffy, Richard Kingi, Lachlan Mitchell, Cooper Vuna and Danny Cipriani. All these players are young by anyone’s standards, within the 20-25 years of age bracket.
Many of them have already accomplished so much, yet have so much more to give. That’s where “Dad’s Army” plays a pivotal role, with many years of experience, including Super 14 and World Cup campaigns.
It’s not just on the field where this wealth of experience and knowledge will come into play.
Head coach Rod Macqueen, who requires no introduction on our behalf (except if you’re Brendan Cannon), has stated from his first day he wants to a create culture that attracts players. Famously, the culture will involve these four pillars: 1. School 2. Club 3. Charity 4. Business.
Up until this point, the Rebels have been very successful in attracting players (except Ben Robinson and Christian Lealiifano) with the above core ideals.
I’m also sure, contrary to Brendan’s belief, all the players are aware of Rod Macqueen’s successful career as coach of the Wallabies and Brumbies. The 1999 World Cup, 2000, 2001 Tri-Nations and the 2001 British and Irish Lions tour are just some of his achievements.
Although this was ten years ago (as Brendan reminds us), many commentators have noted that the current law interpretations (rewarding the attacking team) were in use at that period.
This gives Rod Macqueen plenty of creditability to coach super rugby in 2011. The Rebel army will always be there to support them and the Victorian rugby community.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.