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Australian Rugby / RA

Slim 293

Stirling Mortlock (74)
Well just expect a few NRL David Smith type gaffs when you have someone running the show who doesn't have a clue.

Perhaps they can get the big picture to work even if they don't know players names. Time will tell.

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Because that happens all the time with Gallop at FFA?

Anyways, from what I understand Castle does follow our game.
 

Micheal

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
I think it's a fantastic selection and an inspired choice. Time will tell if she has the chops to navigate Australian Rugby out of the swamp.

For those saying they'd prefer Kearns, simply consider the Shute Shields latest move.

For the second season in a row they're playing silly buggers by deciding to push their season even further back. Given the starting date for this years NRC, the Shute Shield GF could be a single day before the kick off of 2018s NRC.

Imagine Kearns going to war over that point.

It'd be tremendously awkward trying to force the Shute Shield to bend to your will when you played your amateur rugby at Randwick, and the boards of the clubs are littered with names like the following: Dwyer, Freier, Poidevin, Papworth etc. It's essentially a who's who of the biggest cancers in Australian Rugby (in my opinion, atleast).

Sydney is too much of a village for him to truly contest that point.

Hopefully Castle won't give a flying fuck. ("With all due respect Bob, I'm running the game here in Australia and you're the President of a club in a competition that services a miniscule portion of Sydney yet champions 'da grass rootz'").

I think a major blight on the game and a major obstruction to Rugby's success in Australia is the lack of centralisation of power. Castle will have to wrangle it back from the various clubs and unions around the country. Whilst Kearns might know the "game" and be more familiar with the faces that constitute it, I honestly don't think this is a positive in terms of taking the game forward.

Who really thought Bill Pulver would be able to challenge the board on the direction of the game? He's fucking neighbours with John Eales for Christ's sake.
 

half

Alan Cameron (40)
For me personally this is an excellent appointment. Only concern is the CEO follows the instructions of the board AAARRRRggggg our board !!!!

To appointing someone with experience in growing a national nay NZ/ OZ competition and someone who is not connected to any existing power group, its a good choice.

My hope is she can apply her knowledge and skill to develop where we should be rather than where we are.

In summary IMO an excellent choice.
 

Merrow

Arch Winning (36)
Well just expect a few NRL David Smith type gaffs when you have someone running the show who doesn't have a clue.

Perhaps they can get the big picture to work even if they don't know players names. Time will tell.

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How do you know what she knows and what she doesn’t? You seem to be making an awful lot of assumptions.
 

cyclopath

George Smith (75)
Staff member
I think it's a fantastic selection and an inspired choice. Time will tell if she has the chops to navigate Australian Rugby out of the swamp.

For those saying they'd prefer Kearns, simply consider the Shute Shields latest move.

For the second season in a row they're playing silly buggers by deciding to push their season even further back. Given the starting date for this years NRC, the Shute Shield GF could be a single day before the kick off of 2018s NRC.

Imagine Kearns going to war over that point.

It'd be tremendously awkward trying to force the Shute Shield to bend to your will when you played your amateur rugby at Randwick, and the boards of the clubs are littered with names like the following: Dwyer, Freier, Poidevin, Papworth etc. It's essentially a who's who of the biggest cancers in Australian Rugby (in my opinion, atleast).

Sydney is too much of a village for him to truly contest that point.

Hopefully Castle won't give a flying fuck. ("With all due respect Bob, I'm running the game here in Australia and you're the President of a club in a competition that services a miniscule portion of Sydney yet champions 'da grass rootz'").

I think a major blight on the game and a major obstruction to Rugby's success in Australia is the lack of centralisation of power. Castle will have to wrangle it back from the various clubs and unions around the country. Whilst Kearns might know the "game" and be more familiar with the faces that constitute it, I honestly don't think this is a positive in terms of taking the game forward.

Who really thought Bill Pulver would be able to challenge the board on the direction of the game? He's fucking neighbours with John Eales for Christ's sake.

Did anyone seriously say they'd prefer Kearns - I can't recall anyone on here. In any event, he, and the other "cancers" you mention (a bit over the top for mine - they're all just others in a long line of self-interested players in rugby, who have done a lot in their own areas) are all people who will need to be engaged somehow. Rugby can't afford to piss off all the stakeholders, unless it wants to guarantee more division and undermining. This is where wrestling centralised control will be a huge challenge. It's not like it has not been attempted. On my information twice in the last 5 years. The current RA board structure would need to be completely overhauled, given the allocation of votes at the moment. Then, the State Union boards would need to be looked at. It's a conveyor belt of the same sort of people. She has a massive challenge, and the first key step is what happens at the RA Board level. I wish her well.
 

The Honey Badger

Jim Lenehan (48)
How do you know what she knows and what she doesn’t? You seem to be making an awful lot of assumptions.
Correct, I don't know what she knows.

But I am saying if you know all about Rugby League, and all about Netball then you have to be a Jack of All Trades.

IMO Her depth of knowledge about Rugby would be questionable.

And I think I would be safe in saying she has never played the game. So her perspective is very much one if an outsider. I guess that is what the board wanted.

A bold move. I hope it works. I just have my doubts.



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Derpus

George Gregan (70)
The appointment ticks quite a few boxes, actually.

a) She's an actual, qualified sports administrator (thinking Kearns here).

b) she's from outside the game, and better still, outside the Country. Besides her relationship with the Darkness as a fan, she has no inherent biases. No petty provincialism or accusations of. (any other candidate, particularly Papsworth)

c) She's not a part of the 'boys club'. Indeed, she's a woman. (probably all the other candidates)

I don't buy the suggestion the game is too complicated to learn for an outsider. This isn't theoretical physics. It's a sporting competition. As a sports administrator, it's literally her role to go between different competitions, learning them and managing them.

As to whether she's good enough? Well, she can't be any worse than what we've got now (touch wood).
 

Rugbynutter39

Michael Lynagh (62)
JNust looking at the budgets of the respective organistations to get a feel for her previous work

NZ netball annual revenue $11m (NZD)
BUlldogs annual revenue $108m (aud) - of which $76m(!) were from poker machines, so $32m from football operations

in comparison,
ARU annual revenue $130m
and one to aim for RFU annual revenue ~$330m AUD

It is a step up in complexity and stakeholders. Only one way to find out if she's up to it. Wish her the very best
Yes lightweight cv but who knows maybe she can take on what is a bigger challenge and succeed. She at least has some sports administration experience and whilst disappointed if this is best sports administrator we can get will certainly support her (and give her a chance) and hope she succeeds.

Appointing someone outside of Mosman carpark or shore network at least sending the right messages that RA needs to change.


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Merrow

Arch Winning (36)
Correct, I don't know what she knows.

But I am saying if you know all about Rugby League, and all about Netball then you have to be a Jack of All Trades.

IMO Her depth of knowledge about Rugby would be questionable.

And I think I would be safe in saying she has never played the game. So her perspective is very much one if an outsider. I guess that is what the board wanted.

A bold move. I hope it works. I just have my doubts.

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Thanks for your opinion Phil, but yet more assumptions.
 

Rugbynutter39

Michael Lynagh (62)
I think it's a fantastic selection and an inspired choice. Time will tell if she has the chops to navigate Australian Rugby out of the swamp.

For those saying they'd prefer Kearns, simply consider the Shute Shields latest move.

For the second season in a row they're playing silly buggers by deciding to push their season even further back. Given the starting date for this years NRC, the Shute Shield GF could be a single day before the kick off of 2018s NRC.

Imagine Kearns going to war over that point.

It'd be tremendously awkward trying to force the Shute Shield to bend to your will when you played your amateur rugby at Randwick, and the boards of the clubs are littered with names like the following: Dwyer, Freier, Poidevin, Papworth etc. It's essentially a who's who of the biggest cancers in Australian Rugby (in my opinion, atleast).

Sydney is too much of a village for him to truly contest that point.

Hopefully Castle won't give a flying fuck. ("With all due respect Bob, I'm running the game here in Australia and you're the President of a club in a competition that services a miniscule portion of Sydney yet champions 'da grass rootz'").

I think a major blight on the game and a major obstruction to Rugby's success in Australia is the lack of centralisation of power. Castle will have to wrangle it back from the various clubs and unions around the country. Whilst Kearns might know the "game" and be more familiar with the faces that constitute it, I honestly don't think this is a positive in terms of taking the game forward.

Who really thought Bill Pulver would be able to challenge the board on the direction of the game? He's fucking neighbours with John Eales for Christ's sake.
I do agree that castle better choice than Kearns. I hope she is gutsy enough and prepared to challenge the status quo as we need to change and change from the top.

Hopefully at the interview it was her vision for oz rugby that sold them.


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wamberal

Phil Kearns (64)
I don't buy the suggestion the game is too complicated to learn for an outsider. This isn't theoretical physics. It's a sporting competition. As a sports administrator, it's literally her role to go between different competitions, learning them and managing them.


Yes indeed, it is not theoretical physics. But for somebody who knows nothing about the ins and outs of the game, there would be a pretty long learning curve.


She of course does not know "nothing". She is a Kiwi, so by definition she already knows a lot about the game as it is played. She understands that there are a number of fixed points about the game that she can do nothing about.


She is not hired as a sports administrator, she is hired as a Chief Executive. In a role like this, the appointee has to have a pretty good knowledge of the sport, particularly one that is as complex as rugby.


Fortunately, she has a pretty good headstart. She certainly knows a lot more about rugby than Dave Smith knew about league when he was appointed to head that code up in Australia.

He was a pretty good administrator, by the way. How did that end up?
 

Derpus

George Gregan (70)
^^^^
"A chief executive officer (CEO) is the position of the most senior corporate officer, executive, leader or administrator in charge of managing an organization."

Yes, she is hired as a sport administrator.

Edit: Even Bill Pulver lacked specific sports admin experience. Prior to his appointment he did some bullshit in New York that was unrelated.
 
D

daz

Guest
Correct, I don't know what she knows.

But I am saying if you know all about Rugby League, and all about Netball then you have to be a Jack of All Trades.

IMO Her depth of knowledge about Rugby would be questionable.

And I think I would be safe in saying she has never played the game. So her perspective is very much one if an outsider. I guess that is what the board wanted.

A bold move. I hope it works. I just have my doubts.



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So to sumup this bit of logic: If the applicant knows about/is involved in the game in any way at all, and therefore has an historical connection with current rugby personalities (and possibly even personally knows current senior figures in the ARU), or even lives/knows someone somewhere in the Greater Sydney area, that person is clearly just "one of the boys" and typically hand-picked by the tweed-jacket St Leonards mob, who got us into this mess in the first place. Shame on you ARU/RA. If the applicant is an outsider to all the incestuous politics that is ARU and Rugby in Australia, even if they have been the head of any other sporting code, that person clearly knows very little about rugby and cannot possibly fathom the nuances of the game in this country, let alone unite the tribes and bring the game kicking and screaming into the present/future. Shame on you, ARU/RA. Ok then.
 

Rugbynutter39

Michael Lynagh (62)
just listened to the press conference I thought Raelene spoke well.....chosen for her sports administration, commercial marketing and fresh set of eyes.....

Given where rugby is at choosing someone without any alliances in this code plus genuine sports administration experience has to be better than past choices so certainly pleased to see someone like Raelene given a go than continue on with someone like Bill (and not saying Bill was terrible but also not great).....
 
D

daz

Guest
How long have you been on this forum Daz? That's rugby 101 right there.

I'm just waiting for her to weigh in on the Foley vs Quade debate.
.

Firstly, far too long. Secondly, congrats for getting this thread to hit GAGR's version of Godwin's Law at light-speed after the announcement, there-by saving us all from dragging out the dreaded anticipation. You sir, are a public service minded mod.
 
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