A private equity-backed consortium deal could yet save the Melbourne Rebels, but who’s left to salvage the inroads made in recent years remains to be seen.
After months of living in limbo following the slide into voluntary administration, Rebels general manager Nick Stiles admitted “everyone” was considering their future given the cloud over them currently.
That cloud lightened on Wednesday with news that business heavyweight Leigh Clifford was working on a deal to save the Super Rugby franchise by pumping $30 million into the ailing club and relocating the group to Melbourne’s western suburbs.
But the clock is ticking, with the forthcoming weeks to prove crucial in not just whether the Rebels will take to the field in 2025 but which players – and coaches – will still be around.
Player agents are naturally assessing their options, with certainty the most crucial factor for their clients.
The Rebels could have a silver bullet. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
Nor does it stop at the players, with Stiles admitting “everyone” had to look at the future given the high performance department had their contracts taken over by Rugby Australia in February, with their new deals only taking them through to June 30.
“Everyone has to [look at what’s next],” Stiles told The Roar Rugby podcast this week. “That’s probably the hard part.
“I can’t just sit here and hope that in three months’ time the Rebels will still be here.
“I’ve still got confidence that there is still hope for the club moving forward, but everyone’s definitely looking.”
He added: “We saw how brutal it was when Rugby Australia took over the club on Feb 13 or 14, and there was probably 10 people made redundant, one being the CEO. So we know how brutal it is and we’ve seen what’s happened, so everyone’s definitely got an eye elsewhere.”
Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh is due to address the Rebels on Thursday to provide an update on the developing situation.
But it’s unlikely that anything concrete will come from the scheduled zoom meeting.
Stiles said his style was to be “brutally honest and upfront” with the playing group to build trust within the walls at AAMI Park.
“It’s hard at the moment because you just don’t have the clarity from above,” he said.
“There’s a voluntary administration process that’s going on, so there’s all these sort of legalities that are there and that are very real, and for us being in the middle of it all, you just don’t know.
“My approach has been [if I get] any news to keep everyone informed. Don’t try and talk rubbish to them and lie.
“Let’s be open and honest with the pain or the suffering that you might be going through. If you’re getting grief at home, come and talk to me and I’ll try and help you out with whatever I know.”
Last month, Wallabies back Filipo Daugunu stood down on the eve of their crunch match against the Reds because of a pay dispute.
Ultimately, the explosive back missed two matches because of the dispute, before making a strong return in their win over the Waratahs last weekend in Sydney.
It was yet another example of the unique road the Rebels are navigating in real time.
“One of the things that hasn’t really been discussed a lot about it is how hard it is for us at the moment,” Stiles said.
“No other team in this competition is going through anything like we are.
“You’ve got families that a lot of them have relocated down to Melbourne, uncertainty of what’s happening.
“A lot of guys have signed up for two years, they go, well, now I’ve got a contract for two years, where I’m playing, who knows? But hopefully it’s Melbourne. If it’s not, I don’t know where I’ll be.
“Players that are off contract have got that uncertainty. Do I have to look overseas? What other opportunities are there for me in Australia?
“And then staff, we’ve got three pay cheques left. So, it’s not easy.”
Stiles added he was proud of the tightness of the bond throughout the current adversity off the field.
“The thing that I’m most proud about is how the group is legitimately stuck together,” Stiles said.
“Now we’ve had ups and downs, we’ve had some really poor performances along the way, [and] they’re not attributed totally to what’s going on off the field, but it’s got a massive say in everything of what’s going on and how we are, so it’s not easy.
“I felt that the three years I’ve been here, we’ve worked really hard on creating a strategy on who we wanted to be.
“Kevin [Foote] and the club did a really good job about creating a culture and an environment of who they want to be as a club, and we’ve sort of got to the point where that now is starting to get ingrained into the group. Our recruitment and retention was going really well.
“So obviously disappointed that there’s that uncertainty at the moment of where we are and what it looks like moving forward.”
Taniela Tupou’s future remains uncertain in Australian rugby despite being contracted until the end of 2025. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
The Rebels received a glimmer of hope on Wednesday when it was revealed that a private consortium was looking to salvage the embattled franchise and move it to Melbourne’s west.
Under the plan, revealed in a media statement from the group, the Melbourne Rebels would aim to share Western United’s Wyndham Regional football facility in Tarneit, in the outer western suburbs of Melbourne.
Melbourne-born Stiles, who played 12 Tests for the Wallabies and featured against the British and Irish Lions in 2001, said he was fearful of what the absence of the Rebels would do for rugby in Victoria.
“I was actually born in Melbourne, left when I was a young kid and I’ve still got a lot of family down in Melbourne, and the interest in rugby down here is real. It’s not make-believe. It’s not fake,” he said.
“There’s these fantastic communities and there are boys and girls that have grown up now watching the Melbourne Rebels and have got something to aspire to be now, and they’re coming through the pathways.
“I could tell you a couple of players that I believe we’ve got now sort of 18, 19, 20-year-old bracket will be future Wallabies from Victoria. So, it’s a really good community down here. And I do worry if the Rebels didn’t exist, what would happen to those pathways.”
WATCH THE ROAR RUGBY PODCAST WITH MATT TO’OMUA, CHRISTY DORAN AND SPECIAL GUEST NICK STILES IN THE PLAYER BELOW
Muglair
Roar Rookie
In all honesty TWAS I would question whether they have ever been truly solvent. My guess is that the loans came in when cash was desperately needed, to pay salaries or ATO agreed payments on time. Technically solvency is about can I pay debts when they are due. That is then affected by whether you are being given more time, or whether it is just a temporary setback. If it did get to court, I have been thinking they will be shot ducks from the date RA refused to fund the ATO repayment plan.
K.F.T.D.
Roar Rookie
Sinnathamby has engineered one of Australia’s fastest growing towns. Springfield Lakes with its own new train line and other facilities. The Brisbane Lions have moved out there.
Paul
Roar Rookie
All fair points, and yes a few years away. I think the attraction for WUFC about bringing the Rebels onboard is about accelerating that. I was a bit tongue in cheek earlier with my east/west cracked but I am a bit concerned about the challenges of a venue so far to the west. I live inner NW and could do Tarneit in about 30min depending on Ring Road traffic so it's no skin off my nose. I always thought the Showgrounds would have been a good venue due to parking and PT- there's a railway siding between there and the Racecourse, but if this keeps the Rebels going long enough then this is how it needs to be. The player development pathway is working, with heaps of Victorians getting game time. I think the Rebels can string together enough logpoints to make finals which might just bring a few estranged members and casual fans back on board. I don't know, it depends on what happens over the next few days.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Yes I don't doubt they will do shuttles. But that's a 10 minute drive. 10 minutes isn't long of course but for example if you miss the shuttle you could be waiting 19 minutes for the next one. On average its another 20 minutes taking middle ground (1o minutes wait and 10 minute shuttle). But that's after you've travelled close to an hour already. If you go from St Albans station for example, its a train to Sunshine, then swap, the train to Tarniet, then swap the bus to the stadium. Generally I think a single swap makes a trip ok because PT tends to work on a grid so you may have to go East-West then North-South. But getting to 3 legs adds a lot of potential waiting time. I think St Albans is a good example because its right near Brimbank where a lot of the Pasifika community lives in the surrounding area. If you are not driving, this is the public transport connection you are getting for a location that is actually close. I suspect if you are getting over 5k that 26 minute drive is closer to 46 minutes too as the arterial roads are not set up to take large traffic in a small window. With the right transport connection it can definitely work. The issue is this would be a decade away.
Paul
Roar Rookie
TWAS I did some reading of the Western United game day arrangements. They run shuttles from the station on game day for the 2 hours prior to kick off. I can’t imagine them not doing something like that for Rebels games. Edit- shuttles every 20min from Tarneit, every 35min from Werribee, see here
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
It really comes down to what debts are due though doesn't it Muglair. As you say if they have the cashflow to pay debts as they come due they aren't insolvent. The loans to directors suggest that's what was ensuring they remained solvent.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Having debt and being insolvent are not the same thing. Even if your house was worth less than the mortgage you owed on it, you wouldn't be insolvent as that debt is not due all at once.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
I think the grass vs grandstand issue will be resolved. The latter transport issue though, no.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Have you read any of my comments on it? I've expressed repeated scepticism and hypothesised what I think the consortium are hoping to achieve.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Good enough to win 4 games. With 8 games to go they have already won 3 games even with a lot of injuries. Seems pretty likely they are a team on the rise.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Transporting players is less of a challenge than transporting fans. Players go where you tell them the games are. Fans have to want to go.
James Valentine
Roar Rookie
Ok, we are collecting PE cash for this Rebels investment. Who’s in?
James Valentine
Roar Rookie
Do you really believe this PE story TWAS? $30 million dollars to be invested in a broke and relatively poor performing rugby club? And move them to a small, relatively unknown venue, way out of town. Who wants their money invested in that?
robbo999
Roar Rookie
TWAS totally agree. A-League is now a summer game, fine for sitting on the grass on balmy summer/ autumn evening. A different story mid-winter. And, how many V-line train services are running at around 9.30 -10.00 pm on the Geelong and Warnambool lines on a Friday or Saturday night in winter - and how frequently? Few if any would be my guess. Would you take your chances if you were trying to get your family home to somewhere well east of the CBD, relying on getting a shuttle bus to the station on time? Didn't think so. Me neither.
Guess
Roar Rookie
How good they were last year?
cs
Roar Guru
Plus email is hopeless for this sort of stuff; no tone, no nuance, no humanity.
Dualcode
Roar Rookie
No wonder RA sums up pretty much everything wrong with Australian rugby ever since the mid-2000s.
Old school rugby
Roar Rookie
Any information on Waugh’s meeting with the Rebels today?
TJ-Go Force!
Roar Rookie
Let’s face it, Super Rugby isn’t exactly guaranteed long term. The competition isn’t exactly in a healthy financial position. I can understand the Rebels wanting to hang on, but ultimately the whole comp could collapse in the next 5 years. So many of the clubs are not financially viable. From a Rebels perspective, why do you need to fully commit to Tarneit. I can understand when the new stadium is built and they have more infrastructure out there, but for now why not spread the games out? Lakeside Stadium in Albert Park can fit 12k, Moorabbin (circular ground) can 8k, Icon Park 13k. Why not play in a few different venues and see which one draws in the biggest crowds?
TJ-Go Force!
Roar Rookie
Brumbies are doing horribly financially. Their crowds are going backwards. They will be next to declare they are financially f$cked