Tonight's Force Member's Meeting Roll Call

[blueandblack]

a few ppl here indeed. Members meeting on downstairs, tribunal happening upstairs

[brokendown gunfighter]

nip upstairs and give us the oil!

[hertryk]

I am unable to go.. I didn't realise it was Wednesday when I accepted - I have to work until 9pm

[Tazzmania]

Thank you to Mark Sinderberry and his team for hosting the evening.

It was great to see the engagement that has started to take place between the Force and its members, and lets hope that this continues to grow from strength to strength.

This was the first in a series of forums to be held with each having its own topic.

Last night's session covered the coach recruitment process and touched on player recruitment and player planning going forward.

Mark was as open and engaging as he could be within the confines of the required confidentiality that these types of processes require and it was a refreshing and encouraging to hear what is happening around the Force and the goals going forward.

I am given new hope that everyone involved has the number one goal that being the survival of the Force as the number one priority.

I hope that many more of you will join the next forum.

[blueandblack]

From the WF facebook page (there was also a back row that you can't see)

[Alison]

I echo what Tazz said above. It was clear to me that there is a genuine and heartfelt desire to engage with us to the extent possible, and a real commitment to have a very open channel of communication between us.

The way the Foley sacking was handled knocked my faith, but Mark restored it last night. The Force won't run before it can walk but if I can enjoy watching them again that's really all I ask. Good luck to them all for the 2017 season!

[Alison]

Oh and he confirmed that Hodgo WILL be with us in 2017!!! Yay!

He also confirmed that neither Charles nor Matthewson had been offered contracts for 2017.

They are very much trying to 'grow the game' by growing local talent, which is awesome! The Future Force Foundation is something we really need to get behind if we want to keep a SR franchise in WA.

[MI5_Dog]

Oh and he confirmed that Hodgo WILL be with us in 2017!!! Yay!

He also confirmed that neither Charles nor Matthewson had been offered contracts for 2017.

They are very much trying to 'grow the game' by growing local talent, which is awesome! The Future Force Foundation is something we really need to get behind if we want to keep a SR franchise in WA.

Thanks for the information Alison

For those of us unable to attend is there any rundown of what happened?
Meeting notes etc?

[Alison]

Thanks for the information Alison

For those of us unable to attend is there any rundown of what happened?
Meeting notes etc?

Mark spent most of the time talking about the selection process they are going through to appoint a head coach (new person likely to be in place by Oct) and the playing roster for the 17&18 seasons. He talked to a PowerPoint presentation that they are going to put on the Force website today so everyone can see.

They will be hosting a series of forums, each one focusing on a different theme e.g. match-day experience; the Force Foundation; the training programme etc - anything we want to talk about really.

Mark made it clear that this is our chance to tell them what we want as much as it is about them telling us what's going on. As Tazz said, we really need to grab this opportunity and engage as much as we can.

Coach - is it worth setting up a page on here where members who can't attend the meetings but want their voice heard can post things they want asked on their behalf?

[wholetruth]

So I guess there were no specifics like who is/is not being considered as coach or a timeline when the appointment will be made. October is a long way away especially with other clubs very active with recruiting.

[The InnFORCEr]

So I guess there were no specifics like who is/is not being considered as coach or a timeline when the appointment will be made. October is a long way away especially with other clubs very active with recruiting.

I can't understand why, but apparently Tom Fearn has ben overlooked

[agrugger]

So I guess there were no specifics like who is/is not being considered as coach or a timeline when the appointment will be made. October is a long way away especially with other clubs very active with recruiting.

He was very strong in his position about confidentiality about who is on/off the shortlist (which I greatly respect). He did mention the list (both candidates and interview panel/selection committee) in the newspaper not being accurate (but did divulge which parts). He did say they are hopeful to start interviewing next week with a plan to announce a new coach by the end of Aug. That would give the new coach about 4 weeks before pre-season training starts in Oct.

Another bit of hopeful news was that Mark is confident that we would see a big name signing of a back in the next few days (my guess is a Centre b/c he stressed how we haven't had much firepower there in recent years). It was interesting/good to me how he admitted the marquee signing of Peter Grant was a poor decision by the club and they are learning from it.

[agrugger]

I'm not able to make it either (and probably too cynical atm to be helpful anyway). But if there was one question I would ask it would be "What is the fundamental change in direction/strategy that is planned to change the fortunes of the club?". The club has been run the "normal" way for 11 years now, fitting in with the other teams and leveraging off their structures - it has brought the team to the verge of non-existence. So, what are the ARU planning to do fundamentally differently from here on, or is it just going to shuffle some deck chairs and continue down the same old path hoping that things will somehow all change for the better?

An interesting follow-up if anyone is feeling mischievous would be "If things do turn around, would the ARU see ongoing success/finals for the Force rather than other Australian teams as 'in the interest of Australian Rugby'?" (to quote what Pulver actually said)

While this question was not specifically asked, Mark did allude to it. The biggest change in the way the club operates is to utilise all the resources available now through the ARU and High performance academy. He talked about have access to data to better understand players training (designing programmes and results) and it's effects on results. He also mentioned access to others who have eyes on the ground over east for player recruitment. And one big thing to me is that they are willing to have the honest discussions with whoever the next coach is on what areas he needs the most support, and to provide that support. They realise that the Kiwi's are setting the standard right now. But their mission is not to try to just meet that current standard, but more predict where the game is evolving to in the next few years and meet or beat everyone to that point.

[todd4]

Trying not to repeat what others have said but, Mark did say that the latest report in the newspaper re. which candidates where on the list for coach was written using guesswork. Nick Taylor did approach the Force for info but was told the list of applicants was confidential so he went ahead and based the article on assumptions (my words).He said some info in the article was correct and some incorrect but would not elaborate. Mark did speak about the career pathways set-up for coaches that exists in NZ and it looks like the ARU want to introduce a similar model here. When asked if that meant that our next coach would be an Aussie he said 'not necessarily' but I'm guessing it probably will be. He said interviews will commence next week with a decision due and an offer made to the successful candidate by late August/early September. He said recruitment of players is still actively going ahead and there will be the announcement of a couple of significant signings in the next couple of days. (Did I hear this correct? or was my mind in fantasy land at this stage?)
On recruitment he said that the preference will be to develop our own players from the school system through the Future Force program with a goal of hopefully having about 60% local content in the squad in years to come.. He said this is preferable to bringing in players from overseas both from a cost and /or ability reasons.
We still have a number of spots to fill. He said the Force are looking at Ross HP developing into a no.6 rather than a lock but of course will be used as a lock when needed. He said the ARU will help identify young players over east with potential and encourage them to move west as opportunities arise. I think the ARU involvement in recruitment and coaching support will be a positive thing. He said a whole lot more but my brain has just slipped into neutral and I need a coffee.

[Alison]

So I guess there were no specifics like who is/is not being considered as coach or a timeline when the appointment will be made. October is a long way away especially with other clubs very active with recruiting.

No specifics on the who as it's a confidential process. How would you feel if you applied for a job in confidence and your potential employer then blabbed that you were in the mix and your current employer found out??!

The Oct date is when the successful person will be physically in post by. Not the date the appointment and announcement will be made.

Mark made it clear last night that player recruitment was carrying on in parallel with the coach recruitment process and that it was not considered a deal breaker that the new coach isn't yet in place. The head coach is just one piece in a larger jigsaw in terms of a player's decision about whether to commit to the Force. It's as much about the structures that will support the head coach as it is about the head coach himself. He was totally unfazed on that point last night.