JOHN Mitchell's all-powerful grip on the Western Force is weakening amid speculation about his long-term future as head coach of the Super 14 team.
In his first three seasons at the helm, Mitchell has been the main authority on team issues.
But Force chief executive Greg Harris has introduced a new power-sharing structure, which will give assistant coaches and senior players more input into how the team prepares and plays.
It is a model Harris has borrowed from AFL club the Sydney Swans where he was once chairman of selectors.
Harris will chair the Force's match committee, which includes assistant coaches John Mulvihill and Tom Fearn and captain and vice-captain Nathan Sharpe and Matt Giteau as well as the team's strength and conditioning coach, Hayden Masters.
While Sharpe and Giteau were absent with the Wallabies, Tai McIsaac and Scott Staniforth sat on the committee during the pre-season.
It is a significant change to the way the Force has operated in its first three years.
There was a feeling in Perth that the Force players did not have enough say in how the team was playing and the assistant coaches did not have sufficient authority in their areas of expertise. The new structure is designed to take pressure off Mitchell, who has had to build the expansion team from scratch.
Not only has Mitchell attracted leading Wallabies such as Giteau to the west, he has also developed emerging talent such as openside flanker David Pocock and utility back James O'Connor.
All indications are that Mitchell will remain in Perth next year, but it appears less certain whether he will see out the final two years of his contract in 2010 and 2011.
Mitchell was the right man for the job when the fledgling Force was seeking a foundation coach, his international reputation helping the team recruit big-name players such as Sharpe and Brendan Cannon to Perth.
Although the Force only won one game (and drew two) in its first Super 14 season in 2006, the new team was competitive from the outset, playing an attractive brand of attacking rugby.
With the acquisition of Giteau, the Force was the big improver of the 2007 season, finishing in seventh place with a 6-1-6 win-draw-loss record.
Although the Force produced its most number of wins this season (7-6), it slipped to eighth place on the table.
The was speculation Mitchell's no-nonsense approach alienated some Force players, but the club has dismissed suggestions of a player revolt. Giteau, who has received a big offer from French club Bayonne, has sought legal advice on being released from his Force contract next year and is almost certain to return to the Brumbies in 2010, while outside back Drew Mitchell is also believed to want to leave Perth.
In his defence, Mitchell had to get hard on the players after off-field incidents involving former halfback Matt Henjak (who punched team-mate Haig Sare) and number eight Scott Fava (who manhandled a quokka on Rottnest Island) which damaged the team's image. Mitchell has indicated he wants to remain as Force coach, but there was also talk that he has been in discussions with clubs in Europe.
The Force may also decide after four years that the team's leadership needs freshening.
Whether Mitchell stays or goes in the long term may depend on the Force's ability to retain and recruit players and how the new match committee structure works out.
Mitchell, a former All Blacks coach, is the first foreigner to guide an Australian Super 14 team.
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Originally Posted by joondalup dave
"Remember lads, rugby is a team game; all 14 of you make sure you pass the ball to Giteau." 
especially as they never seem to be in the press for the right reasons. Albeit there does not seem to be a way of getting into the paper for the right reasons anyways.
Was the wait worth it - Ya betta baby 
