Greg says ...
WHAT a soap opera! The Quokka Shocker. The Firepower fiasco. The Matt Henjak king-hit brouhaha. Now the best of all: The Coach Put on Restrictive Duties Because of Player and Staff Complaints fiasco.
Ever since the Australian Rugby Union took the soft option and decided against taking the AFL head-on by basing the fourth Australian province in Perth rather than Melbourne, observing the Western Force franchise has been a bit like watching a squealing baby.
The original Force administrators were masters at big-noting themselves, and the atmosphere in the west was like that at the OK Corral, with the Perth outfit believing they could do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, upsetting many with their brazen recruiting methods.
Then came the atrocity stories, as the administrators struggled to keep their isolated players in check. Adding to the woes was the decision to go down the Firepower sponsorship path, with many players and officials burnt financially.
There have been occasional times of good news, in particular Matt Giteau deciding to stay this season following months of speculation that he would return to the Brumbies because of money owed to him. Whether the Force can take full advantage of the Giteau Factor this season will hinge on their coach, John Mitchell, being able to revive a working relationship with his team at a province that is defined by player power.
It has calmed down in the past few weeks, but the player-coach rift has been a major issue at the Force for some months. The former All Blacks coach is an intriguing character, with a deep knowledge and passion about everything rugby, but he can alienate the more sensitive of players with his forthright, sometimes obsessive, manner.
Mitchell doesn't appreciate mugs, and he tells it as it is. That can destabilise those he perceives are not up to standard, and can create division within the player group.
It all went awry around Christmas, when the Force took the extraordinary step of setting up an independent inquiry into complaints from players and staff about Mitchell, which led to the coach, for a short period, being placed on restricted duties, while retired judge Robert Anderson QC looked into "certain assertions which have been raised with Rugby WA (including from players and coaching staff)". The report is about to be handed down, and the big question is how badly it will affect the Force.
Apparently, the players and Mitchell have come to a "positive understanding", which will at least mean the Force are focused when they play their first game.
Yet it doesn't exactly make one feel buoyant about the Force's chances. Admittedly, footballers can be very selfish, and player power is a potent, often dizzy mix, as discovered in the early years of the ACT Brumbies. But the input of the coach remains critical.
How Mitchell handles the situation will be crucial in a fourth season when the Force must build on their wavering spectator support. Even more importantly, it will be up to Giteau to stay fit because, if he is injured, the Force immediately become a second-rate unit.
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