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Australian Rugby / RA

The_Brown_Hornet

The_Brown_Hornet

John Eales (66)
There are abundant examples of underperforming Boards and Executive groups getting more rope or time than they should. Fortunately in private enterprise they often get the bullet if profitability drops enough.
 
noscrumnolife

noscrumnolife

Jimmy Flynn (14)
ForceFan said:
The choice of Skelton as captain was a poor one.
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Why do you say that out of interest? If I'm honest this was the one thing Eddie did I really liked. Obviously it didn't work out because of injuries and we only saw it for two games. But there was no way of knowing that at the time. And the burning through of captains in the Rugby championship was very dumb.

But I thought Skelton 1) was by far and away our best player who was leading through his actions. I also found him very impressive when I did hear him speak 2) Signalled a clean break from the past, which I did think was necessary. Putting thoughts around Hooper and whether he should have gone aside, I was never particularly struck by him as a captain. Pretty factually he was very unsuccessful and the Wallabies was a losing environment for a lot of his time as skipper.

Would not mind if he remains captain moving forward. I certainly hope he keeps getting picked.
 
dru

dru

Tim Horan (67)
noscrumnolife said:
Why do you say that out of interest? If I'm honest this was the one thing Eddie did I really liked. Obviously it didn't work out because of injuries and we only saw it for two games. But there was no way of knowing that at the time. And the burning through of captains in the Rugby championship was very dumb.

But I thought Skelton 1) was by far and away our best player who was leading through his actions. I also found him very impressive when I did hear him speak 2) Signalled a clean break from the past, which I did think was necessary. Putting thoughts around Hooper and whether he should have gone aside, I was never particularly struck by him as a captain. Pretty factually he was very unsuccessful and the Wallabies was a losing environment for a lot of his time as skipper.

Would not mind if he remains captain moving forward. I certainly hope he keeps getting picked.
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I'm not doubting what Skelton can offer, BUT: He would be unavailable for in-season Wallaby squads, unavailable for lead-up tests outside the international window, and generally unavailable in the training and leadership environment outside of parachuting in at the last moment in the test window. Also pack selections and structure would very likely be entirely different in Skelton's absence compared to when he is available.

You'll have to explain to me how that works.
 
noscrumnolife

noscrumnolife

Jimmy Flynn (14)
dru said:
I'm not doubting what Skelton can offer, BUT: He would be unavailable for in-season Wallaby squads, unavailable for lead-up tests outside the international window, and generally unavailable in the training and leadership environment outside of parachuting in at the last moment in the test window. Also pack selections and structure would very likely be entirely different in Skelton's absence compared to when he is available.

You'll have to explain to me how that works.
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Look, very fair reasoning why he may not be a suitable captain (if that's what your suggesting). But you pick him as often and as possible as you can, because he's your best player and one of the only world-class operators we have. Don't want to get dragged into Giteau Law discussion because its another can of worms...but a Wallabies team with, say Frost-Rodda/Phillip is objectively weaker than Frost-Skelton even if the others train a few extra weeks with the team. Maybe you play him off the bench in the firs game of a series to help him get up to speed. But if we want to be a good test match team, we need him as much as possible.
 
Derpus

Derpus

George Gregan (70)
I reckon picking the most appropriate captain is one of the least accessible selection decisions for fans. Fuck knows how these guys interact with each other eh.
 
Froggy

Froggy

John Solomon (38)
I'm sure most here would agree that both in business as in sport there are those who stand out as natural leaders, although not necessarily the top performers. Eales and Farr-Jones were natural leaders. Michael Hooper, whilste derided by many on here, was selected as captain by way to many coaches not to have been a natural leader. Among the current crop, AAA and McReight are two who stand out as leaders. I think Jake Gordon, while imo not a test prospect, really showed leadership this year.
 
stillmissit

stillmissit

Chilla Wilson (44)
noscrumnolife said:
Look, very fair reasoning why he may not be a suitable captain (if that's what your suggesting). But you pick him as often and as possible as you can, because he's your best player and one of the only world-class operators we have. Don't want to get dragged into Giteau Law discussion because its another can of worms...but a Wallabies team with, say Frost-Rodda/Phillip is objectively weaker than Frost-Skelton even if the others train a few extra weeks with the team. Maybe you play him off the bench in the firs game of a series to help him get up to speed. But if we want to be a good test match team, we need him as much as possible.
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We need a sound and responsible captain and I think Ben Mowan was the last captain who took control of the team. I too thought Skelton did a decent job and his speech during the Welsh? game 'do your effing job!' was a sign that he has a vision of what needs to be done.
As Captain your are not there to be liked you are there to lead first.

There was a good article written by one of the posters regarding captaincy and, if it's still there, it is well worth a read.
 
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eastman

eastman

Arch Winning (36)
Sir Arthur Higgins said:
he says in hindsight, he'd fire rennie and hire eddie all over again.

what a moronic comment.
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Board members (and CEOs) can never publicly admit mistakes simply due to self-preservation.

The acknowledgement would be used against them by various stakeholders (vested interests, proxy advisors, etc.) and your position is even more untenable- Directors simply shouldn’t make mistakes is expectation.
 
shanky

shanky

Darby Loudon (17)
eastman said:
The guy is an advertising executive- he’s not close to private equity. People (and this isn’t personal) should really go and have a look at his background.
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I’m not taking it personally. He started out in advertising. Since then he’s been buying and merging companies. Then at Magellen he’s been part of a ‘dynamic’ investment culture
The comment was more about his style than a job title.
 
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