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April Fools Thread!
Please read Post #15 before continuing!
Professional “Super” 8 to shake up WA Rugby.
George Lancaster, “The West”.
In a move to lift the standard of the local Rugby scene and sure to rock the establishment in Western Australia, RugbyWA are set to announce a brand new “Super 8” Premier Club Professional Competition to start as early as 2008.
The new competition, allegedly titled “The Western Shakedown” (in keeping with recent modern team names the Western Force and Perth Spirit), is to be financed by a leading locally active International Resources Company and individual team sponsors are already lining up.
For some time whispers have been surfacing from behind closed doors that RugbyWA were concerned that the States Premier Rugby was an inferior breeding ground for replenishing the Emirates Western Force Squad in coming years.
Now, as sources have revealed, the next great step in Western Australian Rugby is going to occur in a unique format.
Documents to hand that lay out the master plan show the eight new teams as being a mixture of six existing “elite” Clubs, a Force Academy XV (much like the AIS side in the Women’s National Basketball and Netball competitions) and an “Invitational XV” made up of players from the Pacific Islands and New Zealand.
In a move sure to upset some Clubs and to delight others, the six existing Clubs will be decided primarily on results in this seasons Home Building Society Premier Competition however, other factors such as depth and location will also help decide the final selection.
It is yet to be decided if some form of relegation system may be implemented after a settling in period.
Officials from outlying Clubs contacted yesterday have off the record expressed serious concerns about their Clubs being “left behind” with all the resources being directed into the new competition however, they have withheld formal comment until they can hold discussions with RugbyWA.
One stalwart Club President said, “This is all news to me, amazing, incredible! You would think that RugbyWA may have consulted with their stakeholders prior to trying this on? The bloody nerve. I better hold my tongue but they can expect a fight from our corner!”
The proposal involves a sixteen week season with two rounds of Home and Away, Semi’s and the Final. The season will commence in early April each year in order to taper into the Australian Rugby Championship calendar and keep new found talent on their development path.
Rumour has it that the proposal is to hold two “double headers” at Members Equity each weekend, one Saturday night, one Sunday twilight during the season however, as the Super 14 Season allows, the earlier Rounds may be held as curtain raisers to the Force Home matches.
Negotiations are also underway with the Australian Rugby Union to see if Perth can host the last Home match of the Tri Nations each year. If this is successful then the season will be further adjusted so as the Final can be a major draw card Curtain Raiser for the annual Western Australian Test Match.
It is believed that greater development for the Force Academy players will occur from training and playing as a unit fulltime in the Academy XV rather than sharing time with their old Clubs and being trained by outdated and hack methods.
The Invitational XV is to be made up of seasoned players to add depth and variety to the new competition and to give local players greater exposure to International styles of play. Preliminary talks have said to have already been undertaken with several “past greats” from the New Zealand scene looking to extend their careers for a couple more years.
Rugby WA was approached for comment yesterday however no response was forthcoming.
Last edited by Burgs; 01-04-07 at 19:02.
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.
Sounds bloody interesting , although i can see why some clubs would be nervous...
Proudly bought to you by a brewery somewhere....
That sounds great. Good on RugbyWA, and it will increase the use of the MES satdium making it more financially viable for redevelopment. These boys are actually making sense. There are always going to be winners and losers when needed change is implemented but at the end of the day it is not about individuals it is about Rugby and it's future in WA.
Just happy to be here
Agreed mate, but try telling that to the clubs that will be left out...I can see a power struggle coming on...
Proudly bought to you by a brewery somewhere....
Haven't read the full thing yet, but....sounds a bit April Fools Dayish.
edit: read the full thing now and definitely sus.
Burgs Edit: Well done mate, the only one to come out and openly question it![]()
Last edited by Burgs; 01-04-07 at 18:49.
Do you think there would be Cheerleaders for these teams TEF??Originally Posted by The EnForcer
We can only hope that RugbyWA's continued support for the game at all levels extends to fulfilling the fans' wishes to see cheerleaders at games!
CHEERLEADERS ROCK!!!
Sounds good. Perhaps a commitment to promotion/relegation may appease some of the clubs to miss out. Meantime they (the onesthat miss) will provide a benchmark for some of the "districts" clubs such as Mandurah Pirates etc to aim at.
Rugby WA is once again heading in the right direction here if it's accurate. For The Force is to remain competitive into the future then continuous improvement and setting aside sectional interests has to be the ethos of all.
Well Flamethrower, I'm gald you asked me that. What better way to ensure we have the best in the top squad for The Force boys by having a feed group from Super 8 set-up. Ensures we have the best of the best and we will require a committee to review all performances to make sure we have a firm grasp on the assets at hand.Originally Posted by Flamethrower
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Just happy to be here
wots gonna happen to the clubs that dont get to play???
I think they would be suckered
Yep there is going to be some bum fight over this one - hope for all our sanity they announce the relegation option at the start otherwise we will end up with a three tier club rugby
1:Those that are in
2:Those who could of should of would of /won't shut up of
3: Everyone else
Gotta be a good thing for local rugby in the end
61 years between Grand SlamsWas the wait worth it - Ya betta baby
Typical purple circle making themselves at home and everybody else can go $%&* themselves.
The Australian Rugby Championship is only just going to be in place.
This will be a struggle financially and logistically.
Let's face the standard with 10 is pretty average here is having 'Super" teams going to be any different.
Local WA clubs are under the financial pressure now and will capitulate with any more - idiots for even thinking of doing this so quickly and without proper consultation with the clubs.
Better to have 4 regional teams. Maybe North, Central, Hills and South (for example names).
Each representing regional conglomerations of clubs. As the club competition grows the amount of regional teams can be added to without weakening the existing competition. This will give the "elite" players competition at higher level - more teams means lower standard of competition.
The academy and Western Force can be distributed amongst the teams and there will be competition this can be played in parallel with Super 14's and prior the Australian Rugby Championships.
games initially can be fortnightly and as the competition grows over the coming year it can expand to fill the who;e void.
my 2 cents worth if anyone's interested!
Last edited by no.8; 01-04-07 at 18:38.
Brother Gallagher I hear you
Ahem....cough...cough![]()
Welcome to the first day of the fourth month of 2007 folks![]()
The original post was a total fabrication and in no way is intended to express to planned or future intent of RugbyWA or the Australian Rugby Union.
As you will see if you go back through I have reposted blue&black's post as the only one to come out and actually say he thought it was bs.
To those of you who doubted its validity....suuuure
To those of you whose blood pressure was peaking, sorry but, "gotchya"![]()
And to TEF, JK etal who saw another chearleader opportunity, sorry boys
Actually quite interesting the differing viewpoints that the feedback raised.
For one, I am amazed that there was no questioning of the "Invitational XV" concept!
In all seriousness, I would expect the configeration of WA Club Rugby to change in the next few years to help the career path nature of modern Rugby.
Rather than waste what we have started with this thread, it would be great if those of our Members who are far more involved in "Clubland" than me might give their vision of changes (if any) to the WA Club scene in say the next fifteen years.
Will we still have ten Premier teams?
Will there be more or less than that?
Will some of the central Clubs need to decentralise or will the WA Rugby heartland shrink?
"Bloody oath we did!"
Nathan Sharpe, Legend.