Force 2018

[Killer]

Thanks to all who have and continue to support the Force.
To the vultures, don't count your chickens yet, down but not out.
At worst we still have a punchers chance and at best the cards will finally start falling our way. There is still a lot of blue sky.
All the ARU's dirty little secrets will eventually find their way out, they have no shortage of enemies.
Clone is desperately trying to keep on top of everything to save his own arse and those he made promises to. He is one man with no integrity, against many with integrity.

Still kicking,
an update from JE at TWF, hope he doesn't mind.

Firstly we are going to launch the appeal on Monday and we will Injunct the decision to cut us if they don't grant an appeal. Outside of the appeal there are significant manoeuvres that have come to light that bring grounds for a further case.
There is more emerging every day and the decision to cut us is flushing this out. Our biggest concern is trying to keep the wheels on while we mount a winning challenge. Meanwhile Wayne Smith and other concerned Journos will be doing their own homework.​

 

[cyclopath]

Thanks to all who have and continue to support the Force.
To the vultures, don't count your chickens yet, down but not out.
At worst we still have a punchers chance and at best the cards will finally start falling our way. There is still a lot of blue sky.
All the ARU's dirty little secrets will eventually find their way out, they have no shortage of enemies.
Clone is desperately trying to keep on top of everything to save his own arse and those he made promises to. He is one man with no integrity, against many with integrity.

Apart from the odd tasteless comment about poaching players, I don't think there are many on here who advocated for the Force, or anyone, to be cut.

 

[southsider]

I'm actually truely amazed by how passionate some of you western force followers are. I love my footy and I guess I'd be a bit upset if the tahs ever folded but jeez some guys have really taken the outrage to a new level.

Good to see the people of the west care so much

 

[Moono75]

You have to be outraged when a decision so blatantly biased and factually wrong is made which destroys 12 years of hard work here in WA. As has been the case with the Force since inception we have to battle on ourselves, because whilst the support of other GAGR posters here is appreciated, that will only last a couple of days and then their attention will return to their own teams the the outrage will die down.

As was shown in the efforts of the WA rugby community to get the Force established originally, and the efforts WE put in to do everything possible to keep our team alive, we care about our team and don't want to see the passionate support we have bled for our team killed off by yet another out of touch brain dead decision by the ARU or now the East Australian Rugby Union

 

[brokendown]

I'm actually truely amazed by how passionate some of you western force followers are. I love my footy and I guess I'd be a bit upset if the tahs ever folded but jeez some guys have really taken the outrage to a new level.

Good to see the people of the west care so much

my wife commented to me this arvo while we were watching our son playing a semi final on a rained soaked foreshore,how she was suprised how bitter she was,-expand that by many thousands and you get the picture

 

[Moono75]

As a sign of protest and as a mark of respect, particularly if RUPA has any balls. All Wallabies players in the opening Test against the AB's should wear Force blue armbands to protest the ARU decision. At the very least a black armband will suffice!

 

[RugbyReg]

Yeah can't see Hooper being involved in that.

 

[dru]

Yeah can't see Hooper being involved in that.

Me either. And you'd imagine swift action against any Force player doing the same.

This does not make the sentiment less justified.

 

[TOCC]

Can't speak for Hooper..

But previously, Sio, Foley, Slipper, Hodgson and Moore as RUPA board members had voted unanimously to oppose the reduction in teams and hold an ARU EGM to put the resolution forward.

 

[RugbyReg]

Can't speak for Hooper..

But previously, Sio, Foley, Slipper, Hodgson and Moore as RUPA board members had voted unanimously to oppose the reduction in teams and hold an ARU EGM to put the resolution forward.

Yep, and if Moore was still captain then perhaps I could see some sort of player action. I may be wrong, but I don't think Hooper has it in him.

 

[GaffaCHinO]

My take on this whole thing....

http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/?p=110086

 

[Killer]

looking forward to tomorrow and any new litigation and or appeals.
I don't know if Clyne has been sleeping soundly? though in my opinion he is a narcissist so he probably has been.
But I suspect he will soon be on the receiving end of a lot of angst that won't go away.
As I said before he is a lone man without integrity facing many good men with integrity.
Good luck Clyne, no not really.

 

[kiap]

Can't speak for Hooper..

He needs the extra $2 million.

 

[ShtinaTina]

Do any of you actually know Michael Hooper or are you just all making assumptions?

Yeah we get it, some of you don't like him, fine, that's your opinion.

But don't start questioning if he has it in him.

It will be up to the team, the players, the staff if they are going to take a step like wearing an arm band.

The Hooper-Hate bandwagon is getting tired & boring.

There are far bigger and more important things going on in respect to the ridiculously short sighted cluster fuck of a decision, aka Pulvers last act.

 

[Moono75]

You would hope the whole Wallabies team would stand up and have the guts to show a public display of their disapproval of this decision. Bad things happen when good men do nothing. Dont leave your rugby brothers hanging. Action speaks louder than a couple of sound bites on the radio, a RUPA press statement.

 

[Moono75]

Article by Wayne Smith in the Australian

Western Force unwittingly played into ARU’s hands

How on Earth did the Western Force get themselves into this *ungodly mess?

It started not when the money ran out, but before that, in 2013, when they lost their Emirates naming rights sponsorship, worth about $1 million a year.

Force chief executive Mark Sinderberry spoke glowingly at the time of how front-of-jersey sponsorship was now available, but presently the oil and gas boom that had driven Perth real estate prices almost up to the level of Sydney began to recede. The Force began selling off their jersey piecemeal to sponsors, while all the while the money the club had stored away a decade ago began to be eroded. And finally, it was gone.

Then, last year, the club made what at the time was considered a smart decision, but one it quickly came to regret — it went to the Australian Rugby Union for a loan. It was, after all, a time-honoured practice, one that the NSW Waratahs and the Queensland Reds and, heaven knows, the Melbourne Rebels had followed over the years.

In record time, a week, the ARU came back to them.

“Yes, of course we can help. But let’s do it a little differently this time.

“Instead of us just giving you the money and you paying it back, we want to make you the poster child of our centralisation campaign.

“We want to move your accounting and ticketing and websites and things like that to Sydney, which should lead to a huge saving for Australian rugby.

“Wattya reckon?”

Now the Force, who admit they may have oversold their problem to get some ARU aid — especially the fact that they would be insolvent if they didn’t get it — thought about it and decided to go along with the idea. For the first time ever in their decade of existence, they’d actually be getting some help from head office.

Initially, it worked out well. Where once they used to read about it in the newspapers that Israel Folau had gone to the Tahs or Karmichael Hunt had been directed to the Reds — knowing they never stood a chance of getting them — now head office was working for them.

Local West Australian Curtis Rona was sent their way, so to Chance Peni. Billy Meakes was a godsend. And the ARU helped to select Dave Wessels as coach, which initially looked like it was doing it on the cheap, but which proved to be a masterstroke.

But that’s the way it always is when you do a deal with the devil. You think you’re dancing with Liz Hurley. Then the horns appear.

The phrase “good faith” appears some 50 times through the agreement they signed with the ARU in June last year, but it seems to have been in short supply in the spirit of the deal. Slowly rumours began to emerge that the national body was quietly working on plans to drop one of Australia’s five Super Rugby teams. Indeed, the very strong suspicion is being formed — sadly, retrospectively — that the very reason the ARU replied to the Force so quickly with the offer to buy them out was the opportunity it provided to be free to axe them in future. Gradually the moves to cull a team began to crystallise.

The broadcasters were sounded out. Initially they were not happy about paying the same money for less content but gradually they came around to the idea a 15-team competition restored sanity to Super Rugby.

A non-binding straw vote of the ARU directors was held on the possibility. The initial feeling in Australia was that if any teams were to be cut, it should be on a “last in, first out” basis, which would involve the Southern Kings, the Sunwolves and the Jaguares. That didn’t hold up under pressure.

Word came through that South Africa was prepared to cut two of its teams. Later that would be looked at suspiciously, after the Kings and Cheetahs touched down for a soft landing in the Pro12 in Europe.

ARU deputy director Brett Robinson and chief executive Bill Pulver, armed with instructions allowing them to be nimble in negotiations, were sent off to the SANZAAR meeting in London in March. There the South African offer was confirmed. It was also felt that Japan and Argentina, though presently a drain, could become valuable over time. New Zealand was hardly going to lose a team. That left Australia.

Events moved quickly from there. An ARU board meeting was held. The Force, Melbourne Rebels and Brumbies were nominated as fall guys but the Brumbies were never seriously considered. Nor was the logical suggestion of them merging with the Rebels.

It was always the Force the ARU wanted to axe. The rest, one always felt, were just back-ups, camouflage.

On April 22, 12 days after ARU chairman Cameron Clyne delivered his infamous 48-72 hours ultimatum and just as they were celebrating victory over the Kings, Western Force officials learned ARU chief operations officer Rob Clarke and the then chief financial officer Todd Day were flying to Perth to deliver the death blow at 8.30 the next morning. The Force immediately rescheduled the meeting until 4pm, basically to stuff up their travel plans, but also to buy time.

It wasn’t their fault they had to deliver the message but it went down like the proverbial lead-lined inflatable.

“See you in court,” were the parting words.

Since then, every ARU gesture and nuance have been replayed, all of them further convincing Force personnel that they were set up.

The ARU gave no heed to Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s 11th-hour entry, effectively dismissing it as last-minute grandstanding, even when he offered, as recently as last week, to ensure the Force remained debt-free up to the end of the broadcast deal.

The ARU, too, was dismissive of the “Own the Force” campaign, though clearly potential investors were waiting until they saw some clear air before adding to the $2.5m raised. No explanation was given as to why two *offers by the Force to buy back their licence from the ARU were rejected.

Nor was any explanation provided as to why the Rebels — who seemingly have solved their own financial woes, though they are yet to release any details — were let off the hook despite being a $17.5m burden on the ARU since 2011.

Since 2005, the Force have cost the national body just $5.5m.

Why was the ARU not held to account for its own blunders? Why did it not factor in the extra $4m it would cost for travel and accommodation to go to Japan and *Argentina?

Why was it not slated for losing the $1m NRC sponsorship because it did not honour a promise to introduce a similar scheme for women?

Why is the ARU so utterly determined to rid Super Rugby of the Force, while it is about to move into its new $20m headquarters at Moore Park?

Why? It did it because it could, because it was the simplest option.

Where is the carefully thought-out strategy in that?

 

[Hoolly Doolly]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...e/news-story/f0b05eb6ac176651d2b20cdc21dcde1b

Looks like Perth spirit are gone after this season .....

Western Force fears axe hovers over their NRC side

The Western Force fear that it is not just their Super Rugby team the Australian Rugby Union is intent on terminating, but also their National Rugby Championship side, the Perth Spirit.

Force chief executive Mark Sinderberry confirmed last night the Perth club would seek leave this morning to appeal to the Supreme Court against the ARU decision to strip them of their licence, with a hearing likely to be fast-tracked to ensure a decision within two weeks.

Meanwhile, it has come to light that the ARU also intends cutting the Perth Spirit from the NRC at the end of this season. RugbyWA vice-chairman John Edwards said the club only realised their NRC team was also under threat during negotiations a few weeks ago after the ARU had issued a Termination of Alliance Agreement. (The agreement is the contract signed between the Force and the ARU when the national body bought the Super Rugby licence in June last year.)

“In the course of renegotiation about what would happen should we lose the arbitration, the NRC Spirit team was in the Alliance as well and we asked them about that,” said Edwards. “They basically said this will be their last season, the one that’s about to start.

“We said: ‘Why would you do that?’ And they said they were not quite sure there would be much support for (the team), or much interest.

“We reacted to this by reminding them what the N in NRC stands for and that this was a very important pathway — oh, and we won it last year — and that this should in no way be linked to the Force outcome.

“What they did say, with not much credit, was that they would look at it after the season. That’s their intention.”

An ARU spokesman said yesterday nothing official had yet been resolved about the Perth NRC side beyond the end of this season. “If they are saying that we are making plans to wrap them up beyond this year, that’s different to saying there are no plans beyond this year,” the spokesman said.

Still, the differentiation might be lost on Force staff and supporters, who are desperately feeling the pain of Friday’s decision to cut the team. Certainly any attempt by the national body to eliminate not just the last step to the Wallabies, the Super Rugby side, but also the next-to-last step, the NRC side, will be seen as the ultimate betrayal. And it would fly in the face of the statement issued on Friday by ARU chairman Cameron Clyne.

“Western Australia will retain an important place in Australian rugby and the ARU will continue to support youth development programs and the community game in the West,” Clyne said. “There will be a clear pathway for young Western Australian rugby players to reach the highest levels and represent the Wallabies.”

When asked about the Perth NRC side and what role it would play, Wallabies coach Michael Cheika replied: “If that’s what will be there — I’m not sure where that organisation is — but if that’s what will be there, then that is what we will focus on, pushing the talent into there.

“Whatever that might be, it’s about us identifying those players a little younger (than NRC age). In the shorter period, that would be done. It’s the next generation. We have to make sure our fans and volunteers and people who participate in the game are still very engaged so the next generation of players and kids, they’re still seeing rugby as something they want to be involved in.”

There has been fallout on both sides of this civil war, with ARU chief executive Bill Pulver announcing he will resign as soon as a replacement can be found.

Former CEO of the Waratahs, the Rugby Union Players Association and the Western Force, Greg Harris, confirmed yesterday he had an interest in applying for the position. “You’ve got to attack it front-on. It’s one thing to have the courage to make it work, but you would also need to have the support of the ARU board,” Harris said.

Geoff Stooke, who resigned from the ARU board in protest at Friday’s decision, said yesterday Australian rugby needed to address both its finances and the high-performance areas while still keeping five Super Rugby teams.

“I don’t ignore the fact that there will be financial difficulties but they can be worked through,” Stooke said.

“And as for the suggestion that we’re spreading the players too thin by having five teams, that’s not been proven. We’re now providing a solution before we have identified the cause. The high-performance area needs to be looked at both from a national and from a state basis.”

 

[jimmydubs]

That's pish. IF they can't turn this decision around in the courts and the ARU bump the spirit as well... Well i don't know what to say. Its just beyond description how mental that decision would be.

If it fell apart on its own in a few years because their force decision properly fucks rugby in WA is one thing. However to axe the spirit immediately as well is a whole other level. Is it spite? Did a sandgroper shit in clynes cornflakes once?

 

[chibimatty]

Getting rid of the Spirit also, would be more than negligent, it would be malicious.

 

[ShtinaTina]

That Wayne Smith article makes me sick to my stomach.
The duplicity of the ARU, when in black & white is astounding.
I hope this can all see the light of day, the injunction works, the entire board are rolled, the Force are reinstated & a proper, balanced, unbiased review is done and a logical solution achieved. It's a big hope, but there's got to be a better option.