Melbourne Rebels 2011

[RugbyReg]

that's a pretty good signing I feel!

 

[Lee Grant]

Agree Nod. Don't know much about him except that he has done the CEO job at St.Kilda and the Storm. It would have to be a good signing.

If the Rebels end up with the same record as those two teams, or anything near it, it would be great for Oz rugby.

A great job of head hunting methinks and it will be no bad thing to see the league guys with their noses out of joint. I wonder what spin they will put on it?

 

[chief]

I think this could be the start of luring League players over to Rugby, particularly from Melbourne. He was a pretty popular guy over there. Maybe the complete 10 foreign players might not actually be needed come 2011.

What is the average Rugby League players salary? And the average Union players?

 

[TOCC]

Rebels to sign Maqueen today reportedly, as director of coaching and head coach, whilst the plan is to have another coach of considerable experience(connolly) to fill another position in the coaching roster.

Also, its been reported that Folau may become a targe of the franchise, it was reported that Folau signed a 4yr deal with the Broncos, however the deal is for 2 years with a 2 year option.

On top of that, apparently News Corp arent to happy about Waldron moving, they had planned to offload the Storm at some point in the near future and the loss of the CEO has undermined the value of the club.

 

[Gil]

matt henjak ?

 

[fatprop]

Melbourne Rebels sign World Cup coach Rod Macqueen

* Wayne Smith, Rugby union editor
* From: The Australian
* January 12, 2010 12:00AM


THE Melbourne Rebels are set to follow up their stunning coup of signing the Melbourne Storm's Brian Waldron as their new CEO with a second major announcement tomorrow, confirming Rod Macqueen as their head coach and director of rugby.

Macqueen, the architect of Australia's 1999 World Cup triumph, has turned down a host of lucrative offers from around the world since bringing down the curtain on his coaching career the night the Wallabies clinched an historic series victory over the British and Irish Lions in 2001.

That he has now chosen to return to the international arena with the Rebels is an extraordinary endorsement of the Harold Mitchell-led Melbourne consortium. He will meet Mitchell and other senior Rebels figures today in Melbourne where he is expected to formalise his dual roles as the club's head coach and director of coaching.

It will be the second time in his career that Macqueen has signed on to build a Super rugby team from the ground up, having served as the ACT Brumbies' foundation coach in 1996 and 1997 before being elevated to the Wallabies.

Within a week of belatedly being handed the Melbourne licence by the Australian Rugby Union, the Rebels are confident of filling the two critical positions of CEO and head coach with men whose resumes stack up against the best in the world.

Indeed, so highly regarded is Waldron that the Storm's major backer, News Limited (publisher of The Australian), is understood to have made an 11th-hour attempt to persuade him to remain with the reigning rugby league premiers.

But after six years with the Storm, during which time the club emerged as Australia's most successful rugby league franchise, Waldron was convinced it was time to move on.

"At 46 years of age as a sports administrator, you need to take advantage of opportunities as they come along," said Waldron, who will be moving into his third major football code, having earlier had successful stints in the AFL as St Kilda chief executive and general manager of football operations at Richmond. "This is a rare opportunity to start from scratch with a major new club in the biggest sporting market in the country."

Mitchell couldn't contain his delight at having recruited Waldron, who he described as "one of the best three sporting administrators in the country".

"It was all done very quickly, starting with a meeting with him in South Melbourne last Thursday," Mitchell said.

Waldron committed to weigh up his decision over the weekend and informed the Storm's board yesterday morning of his intention to switch to the other side of the rugby divide in the same city. Although many observers believe the Rebels and Storm will be competing for basically the same fans, Waldron is adamant there is enough room for both codes to run top-level professional teams in the Victorian market.

"Melbourne is a bit different," Waldron said. "The market is big enough to sustain not only the AFL but other codes as well.

"We at the Storm were devastated when the Rebels lost their bid to join Super rugby in 2005 because we felt they would add to the exposure of the Storm.

"A lot of fans will go to both. I don't see it as competitive but rather complementary.

"I'm a quintessential Victorian. We love our AFL team and that passion lasts a lifetime but we also love to watch and support other high-class sports."

Although the Rebels have allocated four spots in their 2011 playing roster to rugby league converts, Waldron has done them no favours by signing such likely targets as Greg Inglis and Billy Slater to long-term contracts with the Storm. Not that he has any intention of raiding the club where he will continue to work for the next four weeks.

"I'd never do anything detrimental to the Storm," he said.

Indeed, while there have been suggestions the Rebels are interested in Johnathan Thurston, the league player starting to excite most interest is Israel Folau, the former Melbourne winger and centre who moved last year to the Brisbane Broncos.

Although it is widely believed he is committed to the Broncos for another three seasons, in fact Folau signed only a two-year contract with a two-year option, meaning he could well become a target of the new Super 15 club.

Meanwhile, Wallabies prop Ben Alexander will learn tomorrow whether he will require surgery on his left hand, injured in a training mishap last week. He could miss the first four rounds.

 

[waratahjesus]

wow, if a team can pull this sort of signings off it makes you wonder just how much money the tahs are saving by having hickey there. frees up cheika though i spose!

so far so good for the rebels! well done!

 

[TheRiddler]

Not sure I totally agree on the credentials of Waldron. Despite the Storm being very successful on the field, they were still bleeding cash at an alarming rate and had to be continually propped up by News Ltd. Surely the financial affairs of the club were ultimately the responsibility of the CEO? And if he allowed cash out to be substantially greater than cash in for a number of years then that should send warning signals?

 

[TOCC]

Not sure I totally agree on the credentials of Waldron. Despite the Storm being very successful on the field, they were still bleeding cash at an alarming rate and had to be continually propped up by News Ltd. Surely the financial affairs of the club were ultimately the responsibility of the CEO? And if he allowed cash out to be substantially greater than cash in for a number of years then that should send warning signals?

thats assuming that he wasnt given the license by News Corp to spend that much to start with, it was in News Corp best interest to have the club performing well and what they injected into the Storm was really only a small investment in the greater scheme of things

 

[waratahjesus]

the nrl/news ltd underwrite the storm for television ratings and government funding, there ceo has performed quite well, but that being said, victorians dont give two hoots about league. he is given a budget to deal with and does, his signing shows promise with the fact they have someone who knows the market and challenges and has inside running to attract fans away from league as well as appeal to others, it can only be seen as good in the short and long term.

 

[Lee Grant]

Old Rat, and ex-Brumbies and Wallaby coach, Rod Macqueen, has been mentioned before as the likely Melbourne coach but it was still a bit of a surprise to see his being confirmed as the new head coach - or near enough to being confirmed.

The rugby world has turned over a couple of times since he left the scene in 2001 and he wouldn't be up to speed with today's rugby except as an observer - but it's not as negative as it seems.

From a technical point of view Macqueen was always a user of hands on assistants and directing them one level away from the players. He wasn't hands on himself, unless by exception. He was hands on in the management of players and coaching staff and as a shrewd businessman he had an astute eye for the significant.

Professional players who have retired or have changed clubs will often comment on the coaching regime of a club they played for in the past. The won't necessarily bag individual coaches but you will hear comments such as: we seemed to be standing around a lot listening, we certainly had a lot of meetings, training was a bit boring to be honest etc etc etc. You won't hear a lot of that about a Macqueen coaching regime.

His most important job will be to pick his assistants. I doubt if Cheika will be interested in an assistant job after being a winning coach in Europe but I'd warrant that Macqueen will pick a good staff, even if some are not well known. Maybe he'll get old Randwick retainer Gaffney, the Leinster backs coach, to come home. He's one guy who has kept up with the times, though he's nearly eligible for the pension.

Macqueen's name may attract a few good assistants just as it may attract some players.

 

[chief]

MacQueen had a great relationship with players. He could attract the likes of Eales forming an advisory role, or even Larkham playing a solo season for them. Will be interesting to see who he lures if it is formerly announced that he is the coach. He had pretty much everything as coach of the Wallabies only a matter of time before people like Thurston and other League players want the prestige of playing for the Wallabies at Twickenham and not playing for the Kangaroos at the little shack next door (Twickenham Stoop)

 

[DPK]

any predictions as for where the Rebels where come on the ladder in their debut season? as a completely uneducated guess, im going to say they'll come 10th.

 

[waratahjesus]

depends on signings, im guessing they will go after two or three pack members who have played together before as well as a few backs with a premade combination, adam frier as well as berrick and maybe kepu from the tahs would make great first up signings and are all off contract. as well as rocky and a brumbies playmaker, the players are there for them to put a very decent team on the park, it will affect other teams sure, so did the force, just think melbourne has the benifit to learn fromt he force and do better in there first couple of years as a result. (not knocking the force, just saying it will be easier second time round)

 

[DPK]

also, i forgot. isnt the super 15 going to played in a nfl-esque conference system? if so, i think the standings at the end of the inaugural super 15 australian conference will be something like...:
1. Brumbies
2. Waratahs
3. Force
4. Rebels
5. Reds

feel free to criticise.

 

[chief]

Far too early to predict what they'll come. Once we get to know who they are signing, we'll get a rough idea of it all.

 

[DPK]

yeah, i suppose it is too early. im just getting excited, like a little kid before christmas.

 

[RugbyReg]

yeah, i suppose it is too early. im just getting excited, like a little kid before christmas.

when it's only January.

 

[Juan Cote]

Rebels to announce their coach tomorrow at 11.30 am (EST)......

 

[Gagger]

Well fuck a duck. Doesn't look like Looke Roonay is looking to come back anytime soon

Former Kangaroo chasing English jersey

FORMER Penrith Panthers and Australian rugby league winger Luke Rooney has been lured from Toulon to replace Chris Latham at Worcester in a move he hopes will lead to him becoming a dual international - with England.

Rooney, who has been playing fullback for the French team that also features former NRL star Sonny Bill Williams, has English parents and wants to break into Martin Johnson's squad before next year's World Cup.

''My long term goal is to represent England. That has been a motivating factor in my move,'' he said. Worcester director of rugby Mike Ruddock said the club had moved quickly to sign 26-year-old Rooney after Latham announced this week he would not be taking up an option for a third season in England.

The former Wallabies fullback will return home with his family once his 2010 playing commitments with Worcester end.

Rooney, who has scored five tries in 16 matches for Toulon, will play out the season before moving to England.