Roar Guru
Joined September 2014
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A rugby game isn't a matter of life or death. It's much more important than that.
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As recently discussed in Spiro Zavos' recent article on The Roar, one of the pillars of Bill Pulver's strategic plan is not directly funding…
There's been hysteria regarding players signing overseas after the 2015 Rugby World Cup. There is the perception that Australia is losing more players than…
Frequent readers will know that I have generally been pushing a strong anti-club line recently in regards to Australian rugby. Many people's strong support…
With the cricket season well under way I have been primarily looking at our batsmen, their results and how the challengers are performing. When…
If the creditors agree then what basis do RA have to reject it?
It will be an RA and creditors problem if RA try and stop what creditors agree to.
UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival
Yes it is. If RA doesn’t allow them to continue they would prevent any return to creditors.
UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival
What will be interesting is what pressure the creditors can exert on RA given the proposal is really the only way they can see any potential outcome.
UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival
RA isn’t trading while insolvent.
They have secured a line of funding to pay bills as they are due.
The Rebels directors could have put $25M in an account available to the Rebels to draw down on (even if they didn’t) and potentially they’d not have been trading while insolvent. Hopefully somebody can correct me on the legalities of that because it sounds dodgy.
But my point is the directors threw in cash at times to keep it going – and potentially may have been willing to for longer – but it wasn’t a formal arrangement so the Rebels at the time couldn’t say they had access to funds.
UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival
But also on “training beyond your limits”. Flogging players is archaic.
Strength and conditioning is based on progressive overload to maximise results and minimise injury. Good S&C is achieving desired targets with as little effort as possible.
NRL News: 'Happens every day' - Anasta defends Dogs as $4M lawsuit looms over former player's training punishment
I disagree you can’t apply workplace laws to professional sport.
Most modern managers realise that yelling at employees doesn’t get the best performance out of them, and different methods do.
Is coaching any different? For example Bellamy yelling at a player only works because it conveys he’s unhappy with something and may not select him or substitute the player for that effort. Is yelling and screaming the only way to convey this?
Nobody is expected immune from criticism in a workplace. Just how that criticism is conveyed.
Also methods like running players into the ground is outdated and poor S&C because it increases risk of injury, or what happened at Manly.
NRL News: 'Happens every day' - Anasta defends Dogs as $4M lawsuit looms over former player's training punishment
Also there’s pushing standards and pointlessly flogging players too.
A few people have commented about being flogged in pre season training to the point of sickness.
That’s really poor S&C. Good S&C is about using a progressive overload to achieve strength and conditioning target levels with the minimal workload. Because greater workload means greater chance of injury.
NRL News: Warriors sign rookie Jett, Topine sues Dogs for $4m over 'psychiatric injury' from wrestling punishment
But isn’t this just being selective?
Now some things are not comparable. But what existed then and now is:
* Battle for fans and interest
* Battle for participation
And in both cases with the exception of a brief period they are around average or better.
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
The newest board member worked for the NRL.
The complaint was nepotism.
I pointed out they have gone outside past players.
Why would anybody with sports admin experience have any interest in being a RA director for $20k a year or whatever fee they are paid?
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
Do you think it’s possible the reason they won’t propose change is because they have already discussed it with the member unions?
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
Then the challenge for the RA Board is to get buy in from all stakeholders in the game, not just the RA members, to this vision and to elaborate – get buy in from all stakeholders, but get the members to agree to that.
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
The complicated part is easy.
RA has no genuine control. They are answerable to the states. So have to try and do what’s best for the greater good, but get all member unions to agree (that’s the complicated part). It gets more complicated because nothing can get through that QLD and NSW vote against collectively.
As for why appoint them? That’s a fair question.
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
Not wealthy, a wealth of them (ie lots).
Those people you talk about don’t have experience running a sports business then.
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
RA today have one of the most diverse and merit based boards it has ever had.
None of the Directors are ex players, only the Chairman is. The President is as always as it’s basically a ceremonial role.
I believe this is the first time that none of the directors are from primarily the rugby world.
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
How do you decide consistent under performance?
Today the Wallabies and rugby in Australia are stronger than they have been for the majority of rugby’s existence in Australia.
It’s underperforming compared to a one off peak but is that reasonable to compare it to? 1985-2004 is an anomaly.
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
How is URC any more tribal than Super Rugby?
It’s almost identical in fact. Provincial teams based on regional unions in multiple countries.
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
Didn’t one of your members oversee the implementation of this exact constitution as an ARU board member?
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
The only thing of substance he’s said is that not all decisions are unanimous and that McLennan was ousted for acting outside his role – which would not be the board’s role either.
The same criticism you make of the ex players on the board applies to SOARR – the difference being SOARR haven’t been involved in pro rugby for a while.
Except for Geoff Stooke anyway, who was on the board when constitutional reform was undertaken in 2012 – and now he’s one of the people criticising the constitution that he oversaw being enacted. Seems like he’s now trying to absolve himself of that…
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
Get some people on the board who might have only played Subbies, but actually know how to run a sports business.
Who are these people? I think you will find this notion of a wealth extremely qualified people out there that we don’t know about to be a fantasy. If they had the relevant experience, we would know about it.
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
So spill the board because we don’t have the best people… and hope better people are out there?
Because a bunch of mug punters think there must be better people out there, that makes it true? If you can’t throw names around they clearly don’t exist.
'Definition of madness': Rugby reform must start with total cleanout of RA board - and this should happen next
That is what we have now.
The issue is the states in many cases have been lacking there. Unsurprising when all blame for it goes to RA.
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
Do the members have any appetite?
Constitutional reform isn’t a decision the board gets to make. The member unions do. The board can only propose change.
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
Who says it was good advice though? Or feasible advice?
Would Nick Farr-Jones and Roger Gould be good voices to act on?
Go look at Farr-Jones record. Pretty sure he stepped down from the NSWRU for lending an employee government grant money as a personal loan. He was Chairman of the NSWRU from 2010-15 which oversaw the decline of rugby in NSW. The Waratahs was also run separately so he actually has no experience in professional rugby. Has Gould had any involvement in professional rugby?
Not to diminish people from that era… but the era is entirely different. If individuals haven’t had continued involvement they are so far behind.
Even Dwyer in 2023 is. He is somebody who navigated the change from the amateur to pro era and built excellent experience working in the NH and SH during the pro era, but his last involvement was 20 years ago. The game has moved on so much since then. Society has, and the people you are coaching are different. Even running a grassroots club is different. Demographics have changed, priorities of families and school children have. I played at the same clubs in 2006 and 2015, and 2012 and 2021. They were so different in that time due to the change in the majority of the playing group. In both cases much younger which also means so different due to the majority of the playing group going from late 20s to early 20s – so the generational difference to people who were late 20s in 2006 to early 20s in 2015.
Age isn’t a barrier to these things, but staying in touch with the relevant part of the world through this changes (or not staying in touch), that is a barrier.
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
Also there is the consideration that the Chairman is a part time role.
'Easy to throw stones': RA chairman hits back at mudslingers' 'hypocrisy' after calls for AGM board cleanout
I said nothing indicates it was more than Widdup.
What changes that? It’s still the same one person…
UPDATE: RA say they were blindsided over Rebels' finances, reject private consortium claim as administrator backs club's survival