Do you have a question for the Waratahs CEO?

Hi Petro. I have always found that the Waratahs have been happy to supply resources including players if you ask. Allocating them to clubs is tricky due to commitments and not all players are good communicators. The last thing the Waratahs would need is "We have xxxxx as our allotted player and we think he stinks, can we get a better one"

Post 2011 it will not matter and this discussion will become irrelevant!

You are kidding!!!! Where is this dialogue going? Do you really want to know (1) Why can't HSBC Waratah contracted players be assigned to Club/School to assist with training (etc) .... and you want them to win the SupeRugby competition at the same time? (2) For those outside of Sydney, yes the Waratahs are now the HSBC Waratahs and are no longer aligned to NSW Rugby ... does that give you a reason to ask the Brumbies, Rebels or Force to come into NSW to do what's unjustifiable? .... Those franchises are parasites who don't care about Community competitions but want their "brand" looking rosy in the eyes of the paying customer. You all need to get your heads out of the sand and look at reality! Q to Jason: How are the HSBC Warath's going to win this season's SuperRugby title, especially with some other very good franchises involved in the competition? What is going to set them apart from the others?

I like to talk to my mates about the game and yell at the players when there is a break in play. Will you turn off the rock music please and let the crowd be heard?

Well, they played a pre-season game there in 2009 vs Fiji. Short memory. Last year they went to Lismore and Orange, and this year Nowra. There are lots of places the Tahs could play, Bay.

The whole NSW Country Rugby thing you mentioned James is something I've been going on about for years and I'm from the Hunter/Ncle region. I follow the NSW Tahs cause they are the only gig in town so to speak that is representing my state but it is very much in writing only, I dont feel they represent me. I watch Super Rugby because I love Rugby but not because I'm a mad Tahs fan, I think its the same for a lot of Country Rugby supporters. I am more passionate about the NSW Country Cockatoos and NSW Country Corellas (womens equivalent of the cockatoos) than I am about NSW Tahs. More awareness and inclusiveness of rugby clubs from the country/regional areas would do wonders to break down the myth that Rugby is only for the upper class. We need a team like NSW Country to play in the shute shield so that country rugby players have a better pathway to higher representative honours and to have a team to play for that means something to them, most people from my area couldnt care less about any of the Sydney teams unless they were originally from Sydney. So this could help people in NSW Country areas start to care about not only NSW Rugby but the shute shield. Failing that NSW Country or individual Country Rugby clubs could strike up relationships with the other Super Rugby teams especially the Rebels and ACT.

Are there any plans to take game outside of the SFS or ANZ? Bring the game to the people of NSW instead of demanding they come to it.

'what does Newcastle have to do to get a pre-season game' - perhaps Mr Tinkler could throw a spare million this way as an enticement :)

Will the coaching staff take note of what Robbie Deans and Ewan McKenzie achieved last season and throw the ball around, not kick the leather off the ball. Let Barnes, Beale, Mitchell, Horne, Turner off the leash. Get rid of Carter, too slow,need pace, pace and more pace. Over to you , coaches.

I believe, but I could be wrong (I was wrong once before in 1989 so I'm due another one)... anyway the reason the Rebels are the Melbourne Rebels is primarily because of history. We're all aware that the VRU had an attachement to the Melbourne Rebels in the ARC and wanted to continue that through to Super Rugby, but in addition to that the Victorian government was keen to promote Melbourne rather than Victoria. When you look at the international sporting events in Victoria (Tennis, Cricket, Golf) the Melbourne 'card/letter' logo is very prominent. The government see the Rebels as another vehicle to promote the city (and state) to an international audience. Overseas vistors are more familiar with city names than they are with states. I don't think the Melbourne Rebels name is a sign that the ARU are moving away from states... but I could be wrong. Sorry Jason Allen, this has nothing to do with the Tahs...

Well he is the one complaining that he shouldn't have to pay to go to another stadium, for a team which he hasn't contributed anymore financially than a Cat D ticket holder. Don't tread on me. He is complaining specifically about not being able to go to waratahs games where his membership clearly didn't belong. Inferring through sarcasm that Im wrong won't get you anywhere.

When is the marketing department going to start doing their job professionally, rather than giving the impression of being understaffed and inexperienced? Late emails, poor marketing, poor use of new media, etc. You sometimes feel like they can't make a dent in exposure, and it's not all the media's fault. Do they share duties with the ARU team (who presumably do have some spare time early in the year), and if not why not? And what does Newcastle have to do to get a pre-season game?

Rather go to Parra stadium than Homebush. World be worth taking the poorer Saafie tems there, as they would fit in. But the deal with SFS and Stadium Australia prevents that ....

Sheek, I think you're reading too much into it. The split was done for two reasons that I can see. 1) Stop the community influence in the Waratahs (ie get rid of board members, who were only there because they represent stakeholders, having a say in how the Waratahs was run, which always annoyed all the stuffy business and professional types otherwise on the board) and 2) allow for better usage of private equity down the track. I don't think there's any long term plan to brand as Sydney to allow for a Western Sydney. Sydney can barely support one rugby team as it is.

Yikes, I have belatedly realised splitting the Waratahs from NSWRU, will eventually allow them to call themselves Sydney. I was too caught up in the idea of professional & amateur. But of course, this is also part of the intent of the split. Which also means somewhere down the track we might have a Western Sydney. The ARU are moving away from states, which is a shame. We have Melbourne Rebels; the Brumbies refuse to use ACT as they seek a wider support base; & the Force are simply Western as opposed to WA. You're quite right, whoever runs the Tahs doesn't particularly concern themselves with Shute Shield, Kentwell Cup, Waratah Shield, etc, etc. So my questions should be directed to the guy running all NSW rugby below super rugby.

Allen could always communicate with the NSWRU board about said things. Over here in NZ our most important CEO's must show the ability to communicate not just with shareholders but also to all the industry heads and the media alike. The Tahs are a media-heavy entity, therefore communication is not just essential it must be assumed that the success of a CEO and that which they are executive over is measured by the success of effective communication, which is then measured by effective outcomes.

And by friendships I mean something like cross-promotion with the three other clubs which predominantly use the SFS/SCG complex, in such a way as to recreate the SFS as more than a Roosters (and therefore underachieving and underattended entertainment venue) or a Bulldogs (in the case of the ANZ) locality. I know creating an image for the SFS is not really your responsibility, but it would be excellent PR to see Waratahs attending Swans or Roosters or Sydney FC games, which may encourage these clubs to reciprocate. In this vein is it on the Waratah's agenda, after dealing with its actual 'real world' responsibilities to make more of an effort to engage with new trends in the 'sports consumption world' to brand the Waratahs as a co-member in invovating and builiding up the SFS/SCG complex as a coliseum of sport which can surpass in atmosphere and synergy what Melbourne has done with the MCG/Rod Laver/Rectangular/Olympic Park complex?

The Waratah Warriors

Get rid of the finals then. Who really can say the best team of the season is the one who wins the GF. It would be more beneficial for the Tahs and for the players if they were spread throughout and the measure of success at that level was across an entire season

I don't like the ANZ Stadium for much the same reason as everyone else; the fact it's pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but it makes little difference for me driving up from Canberra - I still do.