Force boss warns of no quick fix

[pieter blackie]

New Western Force chief executive Mark Sinderberry will draw on his experience of building the Brumbies and re-building English Premiership club Saracens to turn around the fortunes of the Perth Super Rugby club.

But he warned fans there was no quick fix.


"In the short term we must have improvement on the field but this is a long-term project," he said. "You can't flick a switch and make it happen overnight.

"I see this as another chapter in the organisation. There is still a long way to go. The club has undergone significant change in the last six months but quite a few more building blocks have to be put in place."

The appointment of the experienced administrator, rev-ealed in _The West Australian _yesterday, is a coup for the club and the final piece in the Force recruitment puzzle with Sinderberry joining coach Michael Foley and high-performance manager Chris Webb.

Sinderberry believes strongly that the Force must have a pathway for local players and become less reliant on interstate recruitment.

He helped put such a system in place at Saracens where match-day squads regularly contain 10 players who have come through their academy.

"It is critical that we get that at the Force," he said. "There are really strong foundations but to be sustainable there has to be a far greater drive on developing the pathways for local players."

Queensland Reds coach Ewen McKenzie, who played for the Brumbies 36 times while Sinderberry was in charge, said the appointment was a good result for the Force.

"He has experience in rugby and business," McKenzie said.

"The business of sports is complicated these days and as an accountant he will understand the numbers.

"He has Australian rugby experience and will bring with him experience from UK football. It's hard to find experience of his calibre."

Sinderberry was the Brumbies' inaugural chief executive and in his seven years there the club made the Super Rugby finals series five times and won the 2001 title.

In 2003 he was recruited by the ailing Saracens club that went on to four semifinal appearances. He also managed the sale of the club to private South African investors.

[pieter blackie]

Sinderberry believes strongly that the Force must have a pathway for local players and become less reliant on interstate recruitment.

He helped put such a system in place at Saracens where match-day squads regularly contain 10 players who have come through their academy.

"It is critical that we get that at the Force," he said. "There are really strong foundations but to be sustainable there has to be a far greater drive on developing the pathways for local players."

If he can do that then we will be in the top 4 every year

[fulvio sammut]

"Sinderberry believes strongly that the Force must have a pathway for local players and become less reliant on interstate recruitment.

"It is critical that we get that at the Force," he said. "There are really strong foundations but to be sustainable there has to be a far greater drive on developing the pathways for local players"

Oh goody.

Joondalup and Mandurah set to be the feeder clubs for the Force.

[PeterM]

I like would love to see their be a stronger more clear path for talented rugby players born and bred from this state to the top level.

From what I have read and heard on this forum it puzzles me why all the top level clubs spend considerable cash bringing in players from New Zealand and other places when they have players that for the most part they have nurtured through their own systems from being 5 or 6 years old.

What sort of message does that send to aspiring young rugby players who would love nothing more than to one day play for the clubs first XV and someone who couldn't even point to their club on a map gets a looks in!!

[brokendown gunfighter]

can you please quote examples where this has occured

[fulvio sammut]

Peter, in an ideal world, no club would import players and would compete with the players who come up through the ranks or joined them off the street. That is how it was about fifty years ago.

Then one club began importing, and gained an immediate advantage over the others. To remain competitive the others followed suit.

The offers to players got bigger and bigger, outstripping all but the wealthiest clubs' ability to keep up.

And that's where we are today.

The reality is that clubs need to be successful to gain and retain sponsorship and membership to remain at the top. The reality also is that this won't happen if (at the present, at any rate) clubs rely on their juniors coming through their ranks. The quality kids are there, but the optimum coaching is not.

That is not to say that all clubs do not aspire to develop juniors capable of playing competitively in premier grade, or that some clubs are not actively doing so. Joondalup for example, has been highly motivated and reasonably successful at this, even though they are not competing in premier grade. Some other clubs have a policy of enticing such players from them, but that's another story.

So in the end result, I agree with you that the importation of players is financially a heavy burden, morally the practice is questionable, and spiritually it is demoralising to local juniors.

But the reality is that the standard of local rugby here and now would be much lower without it, and you are not going to stop profit and success driven clubs from engaging in it.

The possibility of a solution can only lie in the Union pouring resources into junior rugby in a structured manner over an extended period of time, clubs being penalized for not fostering and promoting juniors, and a cap being enforced as to the number of players that can be imported each season by each club.

And a fair and equitable distribution of the Force players between clubs in the local competition, which is not happening, leading to more and more expensive players being recruited by the other clubs to remain competitive.

The whole situation is leading to a vicious spiral to the bottom which will end in tears if not addressed.

So endeth the rant.

[westies man]

Perth rugby in a nutshell Fulvio

[PeterM]

fulvio I agree with alot of the points that you have made.

What amazed me in your post was that you said we have the quality juniors we simply don't have the quality coaches which amazes me. My rugby experience has come from the UK and one thing that I think Perth rugby needs to do is engage coaches at all levels with the knowledge skills and abilities to pass on correct technique to players of all ages. It amazed me how many fundamental skills and basic concepts of this game people simply fail to grasp.

There needs to be an awakening and sharing of best practice and ideas across the clubs and the age ranges we all want successful attractive rugby and it starts from the youngest of children.
The coaching staff and the EWF could really do something to get behind this and drive it

[wholetruth]

Fulvio: You are one of the few who can see the reality of Perth Rughy.
PeterM, re coaches: Therein lies yet another problem. How much are coaches asking for?
We do not have that many well qualified coaches.
Some clubs are lucky in that their Senior coaches are not putting their hands out. I am well aware of a coach at one club who could see his days numbered who started offering his services to other clubs - at a price. He had a car and rent free accommodtion at the club just about to arse him and wanted the same at the new club. And that despite not getting his current club into the top four.
Also a (now) well placed Premier Grade coach at a Western Suburbs club left another club completely stuffed in pre-season when the current club offered him a huge whack.
There's loyalty for you.

[sittingbison]

Someone said in another thread Force is not really part of the structure of WA Rugby. I disagree, and obviously Sinderberry does as well. The ONLY way Force will ultimately progress, and truly engage the fans, is to have WA players involved, to be the pinnacle of achievement for WA players.

Force should organise and run coaching training programs. The money clubs are spending on imported players should be spent on junior development, and professional coaching from juniors right to the top level. And the coaching needs to be integrated, so a common message of "WA rugby style" gets spread. And THAT is where the Force comes into it.

There needs to be a clear path of progression from juniors right to the Force. And that progression HAS to be without fear or favour. No backing a club or two at the expense of the others. No selecting state representatives (junior and senior) from certain clubs and ignoring others.

Spend the money on developing brains not importing brawn. The brawn will come here free of charge if there is a clever, organised rugby program that can develop them further and give them opportunities to the top rung.

[Alison]

I know nothing about club rugby in WA but from what I read on here, it seems chock-full of vitriol, hatred, jealousy and divisiveness.

In my (limited) opinion, if the new CEO wants to develop grassroots rugby in WA (and I agree with Bison that that is exactly what needs to happen for us to become a successful franchise), he needs to get a jolly big broom and sweep out all the animosity and stamp out the politics that exists between the clubs.

Cue more disparaging remarks about me (a mere woman) from the chauvinist bully boys....

[RumourMonger]

can you please quote examples where this has occured

Where has your head been for the last 30 years BDG?

Wait, don't answer that.

[brokendown gunfighter]

good to see that you are still your charming self RM

[RumourMonger]

Guys and Gal,

Apart from BDG who seems to be in denial, you are all hitting the nail on the head.

If the Force genuinely grasp the issues you have tabled then the clubs would fall into line, animosity between the Haves and Have Not clubs would dissipate and memberships will sky rocket.

Life would be good. Simple solution but some people just don't get it.

[brokendown gunfighter]

I once looked over de nial