Brown back in pack but future clouded

[Burgs]

Would hardly be fair if the majority were in your "household".

Get your hand off it Rex and stop trying to "educate" everyone, the gaps are starting to appear in your performance capacity.

[robyn <3]

We don't need a new number 8 until February next year if Brown leaves. If he does leave then why do we need to know about it now? Why don't we wait until the end of the season for this? He is playing some incredible rugby currently and I would rather that this week the Western Force had him focusing on his rugby skills seeing as he's going up against the AllBlacks no 8 (No idea how to spell his name) rather than forcing him to choose what to do next year. Our players should focus on their games rather than their contracts. Whether RugbyWA should or shouldn't have the contract withdrawn this Friday is a tad irrelevant, because regardless it will be open until Brown chooses who he is going to play for.

I really hope he re-signs with us!

[Rex Messup]

I'm sure we'll be able to pick one up in the week before the tournament
Prior and proper planning prevents p1ss poor performance

---------- Post added at 15:45 ---------- Previous post was at 15:43 ----------

Would hardly be fair if the majority were in your "household".

Get your hand off it Rex and stop trying to "educate" everyone, the gaps are starting to appear in your performance capacity.

Only you are allowed to educate anybody right Burgs?

[robyn <3]

I'm sure we'll be able to pick one up in the week before the tournament
Prior and proper planning prevents p1ss poor performance[COLOR="Silver"]

We don't need one this week. We don't need a distracted Brown and a man coming next season. We need one fantastic back rower with his head in the the game ready to crush Soiali'i. How does planning next season NOW improve it? We have a whole 8 month off season for all this stuff to entertain us, we don't need it now. We need to play what is infront of us if we want a shot at the title.

Poor performance? Example - Ben Castle, signed a week or so before the Super14 started, unplanned a bit. Look at how our scrum is consistantly looking great each game.

[Rex Messup]

I suppose my point is, it's happening now whether he has a deadline by Friday or not. My point was it should have been sorted before a ball was kicked so it wasn't distracting him mid season......ditto the other whatever number of players

[robyn <3]

I suppose my point is, it's happening now whether he has a deadline by Friday or not. My point was it should have been sorted before a ball was kicked so it wasn't distracting him mid season......ditto the other whatever number of players

I see. But a deadline would place more pressure on him and again take their focus away. I just wish it would ALL wait until the offseason! But it is happening now. I think the media hype this up a bit too much and I wish they didn't. I just don't think the additional pressure would bring anything to their games. When they'd decided the players that are leaving would feel the pressure to perform amazingly, like how Giteau is at the moment.

[Flamethrower]

If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it.

If you want to find the easiest way to do a hard job, give it to the most lazy person you know.

[shasta]

Define old

Someone who watched Rex Mossop commentate Rugby League on C7 and can remember that Won Casey was on 9 around the same time.


And the best ever................

[James]

I see. But a deadline would place more pressure on him and again take their focus away. I just wish it would ALL wait until the offseason! But it is happening now. I think the media hype this up a bit too much and I wish they didn't. I just don't think the additional pressure would bring anything to their games. When they'd decided the players that are leaving would feel the pressure to perform amazingly, like how Giteau is at the moment.

The ARU has made the contract window during the Super 14. Thats when you can make expressions of interest in players currently playing Super 14 and god forbid you approach anyone outside the window. They haven't made it later because they want the Wallabies players to remain focussed. By the time the 3Ns is finished, Super 14 pre-season has started. So it pretty much has to be during the Super 14. How distracting that is is hard to tell. How annoying it is for the fans is pretty clear by the contents of the thread.

The deadlines are pretty important. It's not too much pressure- its a tough decision but its one that people have to make and players are used to making. The main reason for delay is sorting out the best deal for yourself in terms of money or team mates which is all well and good but if it is having a negative impact on the team (and who knows if it does) then its a bit selfish. I expect both Drew Mitchell and Richard Brown to make a decision this week because the Reds game (Reds being their likely destination) is over and that has been a preview of what the teams might be like next year.

[Rex Messup]

Someone who watched Rex Mossop commentate Rugby League on C7 and can remember that Won Casey was on 9 around the same time.


And the best ever................

2SM rocks
When men were men

[Cowboy]

Amongst the eons of time, the birth and death of stars, the creation and end of the beginning, where do you draw the line between "youth" and "old"?

I've got to answer this one, even though I am once again going off topic (apologies).
Old and young are indeed relative but in this thread and in general once you start to think "thats the opinion of a younger less experienced person" then in that exchage you are the old bastard.

Getting closer back to the topic the Force management appear to be no worse at player negotiations then the other Aussie teams.
It may be coincidence but perhaps not, the Force are always at their best when Brownie plays well. He has developed into a Wallaby here and I certainly hope he stays. A few more good wins and some stability and direction within the club will help convince him to stay.

If the Force were to adopt a stance on negotiations that was more difficult then the other Aussie teams they would find it harder to recruit players.

[AndyS]

If you think leaving half the playing rosters contracts up in the air for innuendo and speculation to divide the team and destroy the performances on the paddock, then I will stand corrected.

My initial point was going to be essentially the same as James' - we have the situation we have largely because that is the situation that has been created by the governing body. If the Force tried to strongarm contracts pre-season, the ARU would only shut them down by refusing to arrange the Wallaby top-ups. Under your model, that would mean releasing all our Wallabies each year.

But you are absolutely right - rumour and speculation can be very destructive. It was very interesting watching the replay just how often reference to Giteau, Mitchell, Brown etc was prefaced by references to their contractual situation. By comparison, it NEVER comes up when talking about the other teams, and they have just as many players out of contract. It is a situation created by the media, and it probably ought to be them you vent on rather than the players.

I wish it was different too, but it is what it is.

[Rex Messup]

If the Force tried to strongarm contracts pre-season, the ARU would only shut them down by refusing to arrange the Wallaby top-ups. Under your model, that would mean releasing all our Wallabies each year.

If they were signed to 2 or 3 year contracts that wouldn't be the case at all.
There is plenty of negotiation capability behind the scenes and the ARU would be flexible. They didn't put a franchise in WA with hardly any rugby infrastructure without an understanding they would need some help. A professional rugby franchise in WA is a fairly unique situation akin to an AFL club in North QLD for example. The ARU knew there would be problems and they wouldn't inhibit wallaby top ups. Why would they? That would be self defeating

[AndyS]

Most of the players we are talking about were on 2 to 3 year contracts...they have to be renegotiated sometime, regardless of length.

But you'd have to be kidding about ARU flexibility though! That is exactly what they did when they established the Force - no funding concessions, no assistance in recruiting players, no flexibility in contracting approaches...seriously, nothing at all. All RugbyWA got was a reduction in funding for amateur rugby. It is indeed an interesting comparison to how the AFL looks to expansion (although even then, second and third time around too - the Eagles got nothing either when the AFL was set up).

The ARU might not inhibit Wallaby top-ups, but they would insist they be done on their schedule. Besides, the point you were making was that the Force should impose deadlines on players so that contracts were all done pre-season. That is a preferential issue, not one of club survival.

[James]

If this isn't a case of thread stealing then what is! Let's discuss Brownie please.

Ok yes, lets discuss Brownie.

Hmmm let me see, now what do you think he's going to wear on Friday?

Will he have his hair up or down?