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An insightful article by the great man:
The West
Modern-day sport is a curious beast.
The evolution into a professional environment has been difficult for some, to say the least. Rugby received a crash course when it turned the corner from the amateur days in 1996, many years after other football codes had done so.
Off the back of this came a mixed sense of loyalty and the harsh reality of a professional environment, where, with the introduction of new teams, pressure was placed on existing clubs to retain players.
I went through the emotion around a choice to leave an organisation you have a true affinity for when I moved from Queensland to join the Western Force in their inaugural season. It was a difficult decision that relied on far more than the bottom line.
That brings me to what has happened over the past week at the Force. Head coach Richard Graham's decision is not new to our game. He is not the first person, nor will he be the last, to make a choice he believes will benefit him as a professional going forward.
I did it all those years ago, announcing my plans halfway through the season. I finished playing the season out for the Reds.
Some people resented me and I was stood down as captain, but my fellow players understood that I would play as hard as I possibly could for them. And I did.
It is a different situation when it comes to a coach leading an entire playing group. Richard's integrity and intent has never, and was never, brought into question by the players, or those that know him well. He wanted see out the year and no doubt would have done it with every bit of energy he could muster.
But as the man steering the ship it would have been very hard to secure total buy-in to his philosophy. A coach not only devises tactics but there is that innate part of the role to bind the group as one.
This would have been the most difficult part of the job moving forward. The organisation made the only decision it could in this circumstance after consultation with all stakeholders.
As a club we need to move on immediately and embrace the opportunities presented. There are solutions and benefits for the club. We have a season now where we can potentially increase every player's and staff member's accountability.
A season that will spread the load across the team and make us all take on added responsibility; not just let it sit on the coach's shoulders. It'll be a time where all players will learn so much.
Every player realises the positives we can achieve by embracing the untraditional coaching systems we will operate under for the remainder of the year. Phil Blake, Nick Stiles and Andrew Scotney, along with David Pocock and myself, will run the team in a committee style, with Phil taking the senior coaching role.
Come and cheer us home this Saturday night against the Stormers. The second half of the season is about to begin and we want you with us.
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