JON in the firing line on Junior rego's

[Bradley]

According to the piece below junior registrations are down compared to the other codes. I assume these figures don't include all the kids who play in the school comps so we shouldn't be too concerned - right?

And boy, the President of the NSW jnr RU Paul Taylor didn't miss John O'Neill when commenting on the issue. I wonder what his career path will be like in the future?

http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/...-for-young-football-codes-20110401-1croo.html

Aussie rules in the battle for young football codes

Melissa Davey
April 2, 2011

THE cashed-up Australian Football League appears to be winning the battle between codes to win over the next generation, saying it has doubled its junior player numbers in five years.

And the chief of rugby's junior body blames the chief executive of the Australian Rugby Union, John O'Neill, for failing to invest in the sport.

The president of the NSW Junior Rugby Union, Paul Taylor, said what set AFL apart was the funds it spent promoting the junior game. ''It appears every spare cent is spent by the Australian Rugby Union on the professional game,'' Mr Taylor said.

''We have a CEO who is out of touch with his constituents and does not care that this is the case. Juniors, like most organisations in rugby, is weary of the adversarial management style shown by the current ARU executive.''With the winter junior sport season starting across Sydney this morning, AFL NSW/ACT says junior Australian rules numbers have doubled for under-12s since 2005, from 41,807 to 85,154 last year. Enrolment for junior union up to under-17s was 20,189 last year, lower than Australian football, rugby league, soccer (football to the purists) and netball.
More than 300,000 children take part in AFL promotional activities including gala days, clinics and holiday camps every year. Auskick is the AFL's introductory program for 5- to 12-year-olds, and children are given an Auskick pack that includes a football, backpack, AFL passport and posters.

But it was the lower cost of playing, not the sport's popularity, that resulted in Noah and Luke Carpenter, eight-year-old twins, playing Australian rules with the Glebe Greyhounds.

Their mother, Shahn Lambert, said: ''I'm a single mum and I couldn't afford the cost of two registrations and two pairs of footy boots for soccer. But their club is providing us with the boots, the uniform, the registration fee and even a ball, so they've been able to enrol in a sport for the first time.''

The Greyhounds have begun subsidising the cost of the sport for children who may not otherwise be able to play.

Soccer remains the dominant winter sport. Enrolment last year was 133,933 - including boys and girls - and the Football NSW media manager, Mark Stavroulakis, said the code expected a slight rise in player numbers this year off the back of the World Cup.

The higher fees when compared with other sports do not seem to keep children away from the sport - of any code, it will again have the most children taking part this year.

In rugby league, 38,119 juniors signed up to play last year.

The Australian Rugby League spokesman, Brad Preston, said the game had suffered some minor cases of misconduct at the junior level.

''But the NSWRL has implemented a new program called 'Tough Love in League' this year to counteract that.'' He said it was too early to tell whether enrolments would rise.

Junior netball has also had steady growth: 72,534 players enrolled last year, up from 71,331.

 

[waratahjesus]

so as president, what is paul taylor plan, what does he think can be done better and what has he done about it? or is he just passing the buck? the dude obviously wants more money, but he just sounds like his AFL jealous.

secondly, why is there no context in the article, it says RU was lower in numbers than those other sports last year, was it higher on the list the year before?

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Those AFL figures would be very rubbery. They recently made claims to having 125,000 players in NSW with over 5,000 in my the area the Illawarra. I can tell you right now there are nowhere near that. Auskick participants are often counted as players even though many don't actually play the game regularly outside those sessions. Sounds a little like denial doesn't it but having a significant player population in NSW whether its real or somewhat fabricated is vitally important to the AFL in justisfying the inclusion of Western Sydney. Not necessarily for the TV networks (but doesn't hurt as it would prove that a market exists) but for others major stakeholders in their game. A true indication of the games popularity is in the ratings for the likes of the Swans, which are not great.

The issue for Rugby is the money to develop the game at this level really isn't there at the moment. Hopefully, this issue will be addressed post London 2012. With a group of businessmen looking to buy inot the Aus 7s the ARU should be looking take advantage of their interest and use whatever AOC funding the do recieve to expand their current development programs centred around 7s but with a lot of coordination between them and the clubs.

 

[waratahjesus]

agree on the afl, im meant to live in a high participation area but there are few teams. the kids who live next door to us play every second week for forty minutes, they just have a kick around and run drills, they pay 10 bucks a time, and not only did they get a full player registration kit, they are counted as members of the swans as they both get in for free. good numbers if you can get it.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

A few years back they had been spruiking Campbelltown as a high growth area for the game. The only issue was there were only two teams in the entire area (one in Ingleburn and one in Camden) and both struggled for numbers. Still do apparently. A mate of mine played growing up ( Rugby as well) and still has a lot to do the local scene. His assessment differs greatly to that of the AFL.

 

[deefence]

I see the press reports today of the ARU giving this guy a hard time for what he has said in an internal email that was leaked to the media, from my perspective I agree with what he is saying. I have played and coached at senior level and have also coached my sons teams for three seasons, but last week we went to an AFL "Footy Fair" and the difference in organisation, inclusiveness for all kids abilities etc was massive, my son will never be a great rugby player but at 8 years of age with size 6 feet he will eventually offer some use in the engine room but his enthusiasm for the game is pretty low. Last week at the AFL event he was everywhere and wanted to get the ball, kick it and handball etc - he has done 8 weeks with Auskick at school and the focus is on skills development and also ensuring that they compete with kids with like ability. I see Phil Gould wrote a very interesting article again this weekend on what is wrong with junior rugby league and I see similar issues with junior rugby. From a marketing and organisational standpoint AFL is running rings around the other football codes and we live in an area that would be considered rusted on rugby followers - the attitude from the ARU and JON is indicative of where the "elite" players head space is at, I found it enlightening that the ARU would roll out the line that JON had never met Taylor from NSW juniors as a defence, the question should be asked as to why the highest paid executive at the ARU who is based in Sydney had not made it his job to meet with the President of the NSW junior rugby union perhaps his largest nursery in Australia - if I was an independent ARU director (and I know that is a fantasy) I would be using that as a KPI failure in JON's next review -

 

[hotdog]

so as president, what is paul taylor plan, what does he think can be done better and what has he done about it? or is he just passing the buck? the dude obviously wants more money, but he just sounds like his AFL jealous.

Junior Member

Join Date
Apr 2011
Posts
1

ALL of these positions are VOLUNTEER roles. Therefore none of them get paid anything! They put in a lot of hours all to help out the sport.
From what I hear, they get zero dollars from the ARU, and the ARU is constantly standing in their road as they try to help grow the sport of rugby in the junior realm.

 

[waratahjesus]

Junior Member

Join Date
Apr 2011
Posts
1

ALL of these positions are VOLUNTEER roles. Therefore none of them get paid anything! They put in a lot of hours all to help out the sport.
From what I hear, they get zero dollars from the ARU, and the ARU is constantly standing in their road as they try to help grow the sport of rugby in the junior realm.

how do the ARU stand in the road? is there examples besides "no money" which is a complete lie, as equipment is brought by the aru every few years for each club and sposorship the ARU sign has clauses to provide things to clubs and sub costs for regos etc.

 

[Rob42]

It's not really a fair comparison with AFL - it's a massive business in comparison with the ARU and pushing the sport into Sydney and south-east Queensland is integral to its growth. Therefore they pour money into Auskick and junior AFL - cheap registration fees, lots of giveaways, heaps of development officers in schools, etc.

I'd love to see the ARU do the same, but I'm afraid the money just isn't there.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

At the moment the money isn't there. However, come post London next year the new rounds of Olympic funding will see additional funds begion to flow toward the game. The question is, 'what will the ARU do with this?'. The easy answer is pour it directly into the Sevens program but personally that will not fix anything. If the recent interest from David Koch and other undisclosed businessmen is legitimate then I say let them take over the coordination of the program and use all the extra funding in developing the game in schools.

 

[waratahjesus]

It's a shame rugby is going to be featured in the olympics as sevens, its such a shit house game, great for beers and shits and giggles, but so so devoid of emotion.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

It's a shame rugby is going to be featured in the olympics as sevens, its such a shit house game, great for beers and shits and giggles, but so so devoid of emotion.

I have to disagree with you sentiment. Let's not forget 7s isn't some recent bastardization of the game to fit an ever increasingly short attention spanned public. It's been around since the 1800s. Having it in the Olympics will be a massive PR boost for the game internationally allowing it to reach audiences it could only once have dreamed of. Many doubters follow the line that this decision will lead to the death of 'real' Rugby but evidence suggests it merely serves as the ideal recruitment tool. Thanks to the IOC's decision the for the first time many Unions that once survived on shoe string budgets are now witnessing an influx of Govt funding allowing them to greatly expand their operations particularly in terms of development. If you are looking for evidence check up what's happening in the likes of the USA, Russia, Brazil, Czech Republic and China to name a few. For Rugby to return to the Olympic arena having a 15s tournament would have simply impossible. There is no way even 12 teams in three pools could compete over just two weeks. The physical toll would be disasterous.

I agree 7s isn't the main game but it is the game that will help further expand the games participation and supporter base internationally. It could very easily do likewise here, and IMO its a key development 'weapon' against the other codes. It's relatively simply to pick up and teach and can involve multiple games in a short time period. Its a fantastic introductory tool. If I were in charge of this development I'd use it predominantly in the Primary School sector to attract kids to the game early and over time slowly intergrate more players. First 10s then 12s and finally the full 15 man a side format with a heavy focus on skills development.

 

[wamberal]

Having the Sevens programme in the Olympic Games is better than nothing, and the alternative is nothing - can anybody seriously imagine a 15 aside rugby tournament being played?


Time constraints are a fact of life in the Olympics.


Frankly, Sevens is far more accessible to non-rugby people than the longer version of the game, it is also much more suitable to developing nations.

 

[Bradley]

The IRB would never allow the 15 a side game at the Olympics because of their own world cup. As explained well in the earlier posts 7's presents a great opportunity for a new audiences and participation.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

As a parent of an Aussie Rules mad kid (I'm working on him as a future rugby boy, don't worry), I have to agree at the difference between the organisation at grass roots level. The AFL have done an excellent job in engaging with that part of the market and getting kids interested in the game. Now granted, over here in WA people are already footy mad, but I see no engagement from the ARU whatsoever with the juniors in a market that is supposed to be about growing the game. It's basically left up to a handful of district clubs and the private schools to generate any interest in junior rugby.

 

[Parra GM]

how do the ARU stand in the road? is there examples besides "no money" which is a complete lie, as equipment is brought by the aru every few years for each club and sposorship the ARU sign has clauses to provide things to clubs and sub costs for regos etc.

I'll have some of whatever it is you're drinking!

 

[waratahjesus]

I'll have some of whatever it is you're drinking!

My club got gear a couple of years ago, it was recycled and repaired gear from shut shield, tahs and wallabies. The letter got sent out to every junior club in new to apply for gear, my club did and got some. Maybe the people running your club need to stop coverting other peoples drinks and actively pursue the roads available for such things.

I've played for two clubs that included a junior club and have recently been involved in another due to a friends son, two of them receive gear, players come out and help coach and they have even had wallaby night with a couple national players rocking up for snags, training and pictures.

The other club had a heap of people bitching about not getting hand outs or enough money, its funny how they got nothing

 

[Slash]

My club got gear a couple of years ago, it was recycled and repaired gear from shut shield, tahs and wallabies. The letter got sent out to every junior club in new to apply for gear, my club did and got some. Maybe the people running your club need to stop coverting other peoples drinks and actively pursue the roads available for such things.

I've played for two clubs that included a junior club and have recently been involved in another due to a friends son, two of them receive gear, players come out and help coach and they have even had wallaby night with a couple national players rocking up for snags, training and pictures.

The other club had a heap of people bitching about not getting hand outs or enough money, its funny how they got nothing

First statement.............absolute crap. A letter may have gone out, but it DID NOT go to every club.
Second statement.........coverting other people's drinks. interesting choice of words. No question Parra has been mismanaged for 20 years, but every other club in the comp has nicked their juniors or grade players. A certain neighbour who plays at the white elephant being the biggest culprit

 

[Lindommer]

No question Parra has been mismanaged for 20 years, but every other club in the comp has nicked their juniors or grade players. A certain neighbour who plays at the white elephant being the biggest culprit

Let me put this right so everyone is clear on the matter of poaching Parra's players: West Harbour HAVE NOT APPROACHED ONE PARRA PLAYER THE LAST FEW YEARS. Every Two Blue who's played for us has come of his own volition, in fact I can categorically state West Harbour hasn't made a single phone call to entice a Parra player to move over to Concord.

Hope I've cleared that up.

 

[Slash]

Let me put this right so everyone is clear on the matter of poaching Parra's players: West Harbour HAVE NOT APPROACHED ONE PARRA PLAYER THE LAST FEW YEARS. Every Two Blue who's played for us has come of his own volition, in fact I can categorically state West Harbour hasn't made a single phone call to entice a Parra player to move over to Concord.

Hope I've cleared that up.

Clear as mud