ARU set to take over Western Force

[jargan83]

THE Australian Rugby Union are set to take over the running of the Western Force in a bid to resolve the Perth club’s long-running financial problems.

The Daily Telegraph understands negotiations are well advanced for the Force’s administrative business to be folded into the ARU within a month or two.

The Force football program will remain untouched and current CEO Mark Sinderberry will remain in charge of the club on the ground in Perth, but his role will resemble more of a general manager and he will begin to report to a senior executive in the ARU.

Though specifics are yet to be ironed out, some front office Force staff will also remain in Perth under the supervision of ARU managers in Sydney, while other roles will likely be rationalised into the duties of existing ARU staff.


The struggling Force are believed to be a willing participant in the radical move and talks between the club and the ARU have been ongoing since before Christmas.

ARU Bill Pulver is believed to be flying to Perth next week for a series of meetings, including with members the WA government.

The groundbreaking restructure has come off the back of a club-by-club financial analysis by consultants Accenture, which identified a future of ongoing financial woes for the Force under their current model and in a depressed WA economy.

Rugby WA - who run the Force - reported a loss of over $600,000 in 2014 and are set to report an even bigger deficit this year.

In what appeared to be bail out, the ARU paid the Force $800,000 for their intellectual property rights last month. But with the likelihood of further bail outs being needed, the ARU have clearly decided they want oversight of all financial matters.

It is understood the ARU has no intention to involve itself with Michael Foley’s football program but recruitment and footballing expenditure decisions will presumably now have to be signed off by head office.

The restructuring will no doubt stoke fears in the west about their club’s long-term survival, particularly with figures like former Force and Waratahs CEO Greg Harris calling for the Perth club to turn into a second franchise in Western Sydney.

But it is understood the western Sydney idea was recently raised at a meeting of ARU senior officials and the consensus remained firmly that Australian rugby was best served with a national footprint.

http://www.news.com.au/sport/australian-rugby-union-set-to-take-control-of-struggling-western-force/news-story/3721a4e3b52161564a3c7eacf691d4fa

[brokendown gunfighter]

when is April 1?

[oxleymoron]

Next Friday

[brokendown gunfighter]

cant wait!

[Ralto]

when is April 1?

If it's a hearty jape a couple of ES newspapers are in on the early gag.

[SNOB]

I will earn myself many thumbs down and may even be spat apoun by the WA public but it's the fickleness of the WA rugby community that have bought this about! From what I have seen and been told it's much the same with gafl their numbers climb and decline depending on their position in the league.
They wanted Super Rugby and turned up for the first couple of years but due to a few hiccups we didn't win a flag instantly so the "fans" decided not to bother going or renewing memberships.
If you follow and support a team you do it through thick and thin! We all get pissed off and say we're going to pull out but if you are a true supporter you stick in. (There are exceptions for financial reasons)
Look at soccer clubs people are lifetime members and and pass their tickets on to their kids and some of those teams don't have a snowballs chance in hell (Spurs). Until we have a solid supporter base, above the +/- k10 we have at present we are always going to exist due to the easts benevolence! (K10 my guess)
We need full houses! They moved to NIB because we all complained about Spewbie and now we hVe even fewer supporters!
To all the knockers out there. " if you want Super Rugby in your state TURN UP FOR THE GAMES! It doesn't matter wether you think RWA have got it right our that Foley is the worst coach in Australia. By not turning up you are doing more damage than FIREPOWER ever did.

Will read in the morning and may delet!😉

[Moono74]

Too many losing seasons has put the Force in this position. The fans were there and sponsorship dollars were there but we kept putting out losing seasons and the interest died from all but the die hards.

Spend some cash, get some exciting players into the Force, get a coach that can put an attractive product on the park, win games, generate interest, fans come back, revenue increases, sponsors like what they see and want to invest. This can be done if you have motivated people with sound management experience that can think outside the box. And any board members whose asses have put down roots in the establishment move them on.

I hope the ARU has the interests of WA at the forefront of their thinking with this move. We don't want to see a siphoning off of our best up and coming players across to the Warratahs as a managerial move to help reduce our player payments.

Lets Go Force rise from the ashes and be the great club you can be!

[GIGS20]

Interesting to contrast this with Pulvers "well do whatever it takes to keep the Brumbies afloat"

Hardly a level playing field is it?

[SNOB]

[409171
Spend some cashe![/QUOTE]
And there lies the problem! Without one you can't have the other!
BUT as someone else has stated before the 'Thas, Ponies, Reds have all taken years too get, in to contention of winning this great tournament!
Not being a member of a specific club myself I still go to numerous games of a local (far north) club and am surprised at the number of people who have never been to a Force game BUT still claim to be Force fans (bro).
Moono I wish we had the cash to spend. But at the moment, if what we hear is true , our salary cap is about reached with the players we have! So? Is that astute buying or buying the best you can get?
This may sound extreme but if we lose SR I would move out of WA!

[chibi]

I would love to see the Force reach out in a membership drive to those supporters who left because they hated Subiaco. See if they'll came back, now that the Force are at a rectangular stadium.

On a side note, WA won our spot over Victoria as we were considered a "real rugby community" bid, as opposed to a "big-city" bid. I really hope that is taken into consideration, it is not just a professional team, it's a true expansion development province of Australian rugby. They shouldn't get rid of that.

[whodunnit]

Keeping on a coach that is too conservative plus is losing. I don't recall foley being successful anywhere as aciach. Assistants are limited, prinsloo is apparently on the books! Very unsuccessful coach locally. Before foley there was graham.
You have a non event coach running development for far too long u/ 20's on track to lose all their games plus he was involved with s poor nec season. Another very poor club coach who is not very well liked amongst many but is still there!!!!
They then bring in a ring in to develop future force layers who has no idea if the local comp to try and infiltrate these players.
You can all jump up and down, but the whole rugby side of things smells of losing with a lack of ability to get better and to be more attractive!
ARU say that the rugby side of things , they will leave alone, this the area that requires the most attention. The rest will follow.
Lack of action had come back to haunt 'the force'!

[travelling_gerry]

I for one, welcome this intervention by our wise Eastern Masters.

Perhaps they will better understand the difficulties and unique problems of the West.

[PerthGirl]

I will earn myself many thumbs down and may even be spat apoun by the WA public but it's the fickleness of the WA rugby community that have bought this about! From what I have seen and been told it's much the same with gafl their numbers climb and decline depending on their position in the league.
They wanted Super Rugby and turned up for the first couple of years but due to a few hiccups we didn't win a flag instantly so the "fans" decided not to bother going or renewing memberships.
If you follow and support a team you do it through thick and thin! We all get pissed off and say we're going to pull out but if you are a true supporter you stick in. (There are exceptions for financial reasons)
Look at soccer clubs people are lifetime members and and pass their tickets on to their kids and some of those teams don't have a snowballs chance in hell (Spurs). Until we have a solid supporter base, above the +/- k10 we have at present we are always going to exist due to the easts benevolence! (K10 my guess)
We need full houses! They moved to NIB because we all complained about Spewbie and now we hVe even fewer supporters!
To all the knockers out there. " if you want Super Rugby in your state TURN UP FOR THE GAMES! It doesn't matter wether you think RWA have got it right our that Foley is the worst coach in Australia. By not turning up you are doing more damage than FIREPOWER ever did.

Will read in the morning and may delet!😉

Well said Snob, I agree 100% No need to delete

[beige]

Moono I wish we had the cash to spend. But at the moment, if what we hear is true , our salary cap is about reached with the players we have! So? Is that astute buying or buying the best you can get?

Well there are salary caps and there are salary caps. As Sinderberry pointed out, Wallabies top-ups mean the Waratahs squad is paid 50% more than the Force squad. Redistribute the top-ups to the franchises and let market forces sort it out.

[Ralto]

Cross to Bruce Buffer,.... "and here we go"
Pulver has decided not to throw good money after bad, if I'm splashing any more cash, then I'm having a direct say. Right or wrong he's made a decision, that's what CEOs are meant to do.

On that issue, for the last X seasons I haven't really heard anything from the Force management that shows any real innovation, it's pretty much been "as you were". There has been so much tinkering with the local comp, but I have never seen any real marketing work going on, when I expected to see a visible presence (not posters, but people selling the team).

Perth is a hard market for Rugby to crack, but you take the job knowing that. Ask people who do not play/have a kid or are currently a member, and they will probably ask "The Force... are they still about?' - for all you marketers - if potential customers lack awareness of your product/service - they can't purchase it. After that executing the message is important too, sending rugby ambassadors - to ...let's say a Muslim school to spread the word - GOOD, sending a female in shorts...GREEN. Or does this illustrate they (the public) have to accept us, not the other way around.

Rugby is a small player in Perth (I think my first post said that), to stay a float means you must keep your initial supporters, and add new supporters all the time. The Force clearly have not accomplished that. It's not impossible, but you can't parachute into Perth with a pocket full of cash, a line of credit, and hope for the best (just ask Masters).

Pulver could always pull an "old style management " technique and let the Force post loss after loss, and then ask the board to source a loan, with the Board as guarantors, or even, lose the shop.

Asking for suggestions...Let Pulver have his way, if it works, mmm, if doesn't work, then everyone has a scapegoat, we can crucify (appropriate) him for the multitude sins that preceded him. We'll revert to a stronger local club competition, an under'20s Force who play in a comp similar to the Reds/Pirates, with an amalgamation team playing in the ARC.

Personal Comments etc.
1. You've asked for "well what would you do" - if your really looking for answers, I've given mine. Sooner or later THIS issue needs to be faced. You can ask for everyone to turn up, even losing teams get good crowds - but there has to be more for the supporter.
2. You know all about it, why don't you do it? - coaching isn't my business, but in terms of sales/marketing i'd love to, I've sent my stuff long ago, maybe I'm just a disgruntled loser with a chip on my shoulder and all those other tags that let us avoid the truth. Having outlined some of the marketing work the Force do, I know I wouldn't fit in, looks like there's already have an agreed standard there.