The sacking of legendary coach Rodney ‘Rocket’ Eade has plunged the AFL’s most problematic expansion project into a fresh new crisis, but perhaps this is just what the Gold Coast Suns need?
The Suns now must make a decision about their future so crucial that it should be taken out of the hands of the board, and handed to the people with the most at stake – the club’s members.
I’m not having a shot at the board. Indeed, they appear to be made up of eminently well-qualified people.
But if there’s one common mistake that boards of professional sporting clubs make, it’s that they fall into the trap of thinking they have to behave like corporations.
They reduce the breadth of their mission to profit and loss, wins and losses. They treat their members as the shareholders of a company, driven only by a desire for trophies.
But sporting clubs – at least ones that are not privately-owned by mining magnates or oil barons – are not corporations. They are member-based organisations, and they have just as much in common with community groups, trade unions and political parties as they do with the businesses that board members are recruited from.
The psychology of member-based organisations is profoundly different to the psychology of companies.
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This is a lesson that the Cricket Australia board has just learnt the hard way, after trying, and failing, to run its industrial relations strategy like Rio Tinto.
Of course, everyone likes winning. Winning is fun. But members do not join sporting clubs just to win, or because they want to get a financial return on their investment. They join so they can belong to a collective – something bigger than themselves. They want to be part of a shared identity.
This is why the values of a sporting club are more than marketing spin: they actually matter.
Which gets me back to the Gold Coast Suns, a club that is now seven years old, but one that has consistently struggled to find a reason for its own existence.
Perhaps this is understandable. After all, why do the Gold Coast Suns exist?
But exist they do, and the AFL is committed to making it work. This means finding a way to build a loyal and engaged supporter base.
History has shown that Gold Coast sports fans are not, by nature, the most loyal and engaged in the business. The roll call of failed professional sporting teams on the glitter strip is long, if not illustrious.
Which means that sporting administrators can’t simply rely on business as usual. Administrators need to find new ways of bringing potential supporters into the fold, and keeping them there.
They need to be bold.
In a happy coincidence, ‘boldness’ is one of the Gold Coast Suns’ official ‘brand values’ – it says so on the Suns’ website:
“Bold, fresh, community, relentless, and dependable are the pillars of our brand, the guiding principles for decisions, and the way we do our work.”
Well, a truly bold club, faced with the huge challenge of trying to grow from scratch in the arid, sandy soils of the Gold Coast, would be prepared to look for inspiration from outside the corporate sphere.
It would look to other member-based organisations, and see how they have tackled the challenge of recruitment. It would consider the benefits of empowering it members, not just treating them as potential purchasers of merchandise.
A truly bold club would give its members a say.
Which is why the time has come for the Suns to lead the way in member engagement in the AFL by handing at least some of the responsibility for appointing a new coach to its members.
There are several ways it could do this: from the relatively benign step of allowing a member representative on the selection committee considering the coaching applicants, to the more outlandish approach of conducting a member ballot.
However it is done, it would break new ground, and it would create significant interest on the Gold Coast and in the broader football world.
It would probably encourage more causal supporters of the club to take out membership. And it would bring the Gold Coast Suns closer to its community.
What an opportunity! Let’s hope the Suns grasp it.
Paul D
Roar Guru
I find it more interesting that given all their success Hawks fans still moan about the one that got away. I loved the 2012 flag. Was a great FU to the AFL, and then when Sydney signed Buddy the year after that, the tears from Victoria almost solved the Murray-Darling crisis
DeanM
Guest
Geelong were in a bit of a form slump and the Hawks were up. Played better than Geelong for the entire final series. Played the same oponents and were significantly more convincing. Hawks were in a form slump in 2012 and lost to a clearly inferior team on COLA. A game where their kicking for goals let them down, it happens. Hawks could have won 4 straight. Keep it coming though im enjoying the Hawk envy alot. Not even playing finals this year yet still upsetting the supporters of inferior clubs.
DeanM
Guest
Geelong were in a bit of a form slump and the Hawks were up. Played better than Geelong for the entire final series. Played the same oponents and were significantly more convincing. Hawks were in a form slump in 2012 and lost to a clearly inferior team on COLA, it happens. Hawks could have won 4 straight. Keep it coming though im enjoying the Hawk envy alot. Not even playing finals this year yet still upsetting the supporters of inferior clubs.
Peter the Scribe
Guest
Dean, I defy anyone to watch a complete repeat of the 2008 grand final and claim anything than Geelong should have won that flag. Then, let's not forget you had some very lucky close scrapes in the prelims in your threepeat too, umpiring in your favour in all three.
DeanM
Guest
Clarkson developed a game plan unlike any others. Clarkson made specific tweaks to their game to counter Geelongs strengths. The few goals they missed were compensated with a couple unwarranted free goals at the end of the 3rd QTR and the Hawks won comfortably. Longmire benefited from COLA cheating and the Academy rort, leg ups Clarkson never received. Bevo is great and needs more time before he can be compared with the master.
Peter the Scribe
Guest
Dean M...you can't claim that with a straight face....how do you know if Longmire was coach what would have happened? Bevo even...the truth is you are guessing that any other coach wouldn't have been able to do it....don't forget Gellong kicked themselves out of that 2008 flag as well. Geelong should have gone 2007-2009 as a threepeat but kicked the flag away in 2008.
Peter the Scribe
Guest
Paul Roos is completely overrated....as Sheedy said recently the guy has had 2 hours of glory in his entire playing and coaching career. 2005 was his only joy. He then had the easy money no brainer gig at Melbourne where all he had to do is achieve honorable losses to look like a genius. It is exactly what Bolton is doing with Carlton and their success starved fans all think he is a genius too yet they head for yet another spoon. Roos hasn't got the passion but will gladly take the sweet cash if offered.
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
Correct on may fronts Cat.
Cat
Roar Guru
You are wrong IMO. Gold Coast was the right place to go; however, the AFL did stuff up setting them up. They should have had their facilities in place before ever starting, not six year down the road. If they did they may never have gone through 5 high performance managers in their first 5 years and had such continuing injury issues. The AFL also gave GC less concessions and didn't make sure GC had the best administrators possible for a start up club (the AFL did a much better job with GWS, hence they are doing a lot better). GC will succeed. It's just going to take more time than it should have because of the mistakes made.
WCE
Roar Rookie
This club is now the AFL's problem child of it's own making. There should have been clubs from either northern territory or Tassie joining the AFL long before the gold coast was even thought of. Now the AFL will have to mother cuddle this doomed club to ensure it survives the capsulation of death
Birdman
Guest
Kevin Sheedy?
mds1970
Roar Guru
A footballing plebiscite...... The Suns need a hot gospeller type. Someone who will send a positive vibe around the place, always talk the club up and be always out there promoting the club with good news at every possibility.
dontknowmuchaboutfootball
Guest
I clicked into this article positive that it was going to be a satirical proposal for a reality-tv competition type thing for selecting the new coach (a la Australian Idol).
DeanM
Guest
Looking back at the young 2008 team that list had plenty of holes and a weak back line. No other coach could have won a premiership with that list. Again this year with plenty of holes, significant injuries and veterans past their best Clarkson has turned them into a competitve team. Many other coaches would have coached this years team to a wooden spoon. No team in history has experienced the coach poaching and AFL raids on their senior managment like the Hawks have endured. Clarkson is really that good and the Suns would have already played finals if he was the coach.
Paul D
Roar Guru
I'm an eternal optimist. When black hat old TomC perks up then I'll know we're back in business.
Gareth Lee
Guest
Paul D you must be excited mate. Brisbane look loaded with upside.
Birdman
Guest
Paul Roos is far more likely to be moved north by a godfather offer IMHO. Clarko has already set himself his next challenge and that's Hawthorn's 14th flag :) His contribution to a Suns improvement might just be Brett Ratten
Paul D
Roar Guru
Maybe they should rename the team to the Gold Coast False Dawns
Birdman
Guest
thanks for the gesture mdso but Tasmania would be happy to take the Suns' failed licence and list. Where do we sign?
rusty
Roar Rookie
Well said.