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Western Force general manager Mark Sinderberry remains bullish about the support of the WA franchise, despite anticipating a smaller membership base in 2017.
Sinderberry admitted the sign up for next season would likely be below levels of this season but was adamant the future of WA rugby was still bright, as the side launched its new jersey.
The recent news that Perth will host the 2019 Bledisloe Cup, as well as a groundswell of support behind a grassroots campaign aimed at fan ownership gave Sinderberry confience.
“We'd certainly like to keep the same levels as last year - the reality is we'll most likely come up a little bit short on that,”the sense at the moment is that sea of blue, that group of people who have been behind the club for 11 years now is still very strong and keen to see the organisation succeed,” he said.
“On top of that, the recent announcement about the Bledisloe Cup really gives us a lot of hope about what the future of rugby looks like in western australia.
The Force has been buoyed by the announcement that WA company CLough will remain as a sponsor until at least 2019, a partnership announced on Thursday.
The Force’s new strip is a hark back to the jerseys of its early years, returning to the same shade of blue it had in its inception, a move Sinderberry said was very deliberate.
Co-captain Ben McCalman said the shift was an important one for the club.
Western Force general manager Mark Sinderberry remains bullish about the support of the WA franchise, despite anticipating a smaller membership base in 2017.
Sinderberry admitted the sign up for next season would likely be below levels of this season but was adamant the future of WA rugby was still bright, as the side launched its new jersey.
The recent news that Perth will host the 2019 Bledisloe Cup, as well as a groundswell of support behind a grassroots campaign aimed at fan ownership gave Sinderberry confience.
“We'd certainly like to keep the same levels as last year - the reality is we'll most likely come up a little bit short on that,”the sense at the moment is that sea of blue, that group of people who have been behind the club for 11 years now is still very strong and keen to see the organisation succeed,” he said.
“On top of that, the recent announcement about the Bledisloe Cup really gives us a lot of hope about what the future of rugby looks like in western australia.
The Force has been buoyed by the announcement that WA company CLough will remain as a sponsor until at least 2019, a partnership announced on Thursday.
The Force’s new strip is a hark back to the jerseys of its early years, returning to the same shade of blue it had in its inception, a move Sinderberry said was very deliberate.
Co-captain Ben McCalman said the shift was an important one for the club.
“I think it's important to remember the players that have been here and we still represent them every time we play,”-Ben McCalman
“I think a lot of the older boys wanted to see the original blue come back so it's great to have it back.”
McCalman praised the influence of the new coaching group, headed by Dave Wessels, full of compliments about attack coach Shaun Berne.
“Definitely there's a lot of belief within the group and a lot of support over here for a lot of years and I guess it's our job now to give something back to them and play a style of rugby they like to come and watch and most importantly get those results.
“I think having a bloke that played 10 himself, [Berne] has a great understanding of the game. He's worked with some great players in [Brian] O'Driscoll in his past coaching years.
“To have him here - his experience, he's working a lot with the backs and also the forwards, different running lines and shapes, so it's definitely changed and I think the boys are enjoying it."
http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2016/12/14/05/31/force-jersey-announcement
There is a 3 game membership, but the 3 game membership only gets into the General Admin area of the ground.
really? you would think that in 2016 you would have the option to reserve your seats from the "best available" remaining like you could do if you bought them online months out, or on game day.
i'm sure some people would be happy to pay a Pro rata amount of the full membership in a specific section for the games they really want to see.
It can be an issue for anyone working FIFO.
A couple of my mates used to have Gold memberships but their current FIFO rosters mean that they are back in Perth for only 2 or 3 home matches at NIB. Even though they are supporters of Rugby in WA and of the Western Force, $500 is a lot to pay when they can only get to 2 or 3 of the home matches, so neither of them renewed their Gold memberships last year and I don't suppose they'll take up memberships for 2017.
Yeah that's my point. If you have your roster and you know when you're going to be home you can grab your 3 games and pick the same seats for every game as opposed to GA
Bit of a disappointing outcome. IIRC membership numbers were comparatively better than last year at about the time X's petition got off the ground.
"The main difference between playing League and Union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday - Tom David
Whilst I agree, I guess the logistical problem would be that RugbyWA would probably want a prospective 3 game member to nominate which 3 games they can attend so that they can than sell the seats (Gold/Silver etc) separately to games where the member isn't attending. At least with the general admin ticket they can just rock up.
I'd say it would be worth looking at, who cares if it's extra work for the membership team, that's why they are paid.
Moving to North Queensland for a year starting in January. Of course I already renewed back in October before this opportunity came up so now have tickets to distribute to family and friends. Would the force accept a refund if I promise to sink it into their revenue raising exercise?
Generally speaking you aren’t learning much if your lips are moving!!!
Exile
Port Macquarie
"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!" - Rocky Balboa
Not surprising that numbers are down on 2016. There will always be fallout from year to year especially after a poor season or two. We need a couple of good seasons to attract the fair weather supporters. It's the same for all teams in all codes. A bit of on field success and next seasons numbers are suddenly up.