Quick Poll for Tahs Fans

[Bardon]

I voted no because a lot of Cheika's problems at Stade stemmed from disagreements between him and the players. At Leinster he was able to ship out or retire guys who didn't buy into his way of doing things and ended up with a squad that believed in what he was trying to do.

Although I greatly admire KB (Kurtley Beale) as a player, at one time he was the undisputed best FB in the world, his off the field problems don't sit well with the changes Cheika is trying to make at the Tahs. It would be a big gamble to bring KB (Kurtley Beale) back and if it blows up in his face it could cause major disruption in the squad and potentially cost Cheika his job if there's a split in the squad.

If the Tahs did get KB (Kurtley Beale) back it won't be for a pittance. Even with clauses or a handshake agreement about his behaviour there could still be a lot of problems if he misbehaves. The Tahs could be in one of two damaging scenarios,

1) KB (Kurtley Beale) misbehaves and is left out for a few games. If the Tahs don't win those games then questions may be asked why they have KB (Kurtley Beale) sitting in the stands and people start saying we could/would have won those games if KB (Kurtley Beale) had played. Possibly split in the squad with some of KBs mates thinking he should have played. This scenario is not so bad as a one off as long as KB (Kurtley Beale) learns a lesson from it. If he transgresses again then there's a snowball effect.

2) KB (Kurtley Beale) misbehaves and someone high up at the Tahs decides that KB (Kurtley Beale) is too valuable to be sitting in the stands. Cheika feels undermined and players not fully informed wonder why Cheika is giving KB (Kurtley Beale) special treatment. This sort of upstairs interference happened at Stade and made the problems Cheika had with certain members of his squad much worse.

Of course the two golden scenarios are,

1) KB (Kurtley Beale) comes to the Tahs a reformed character, rediscovers his past form and goes on to become a Tahs legend.

2) KB (Kurtley Beale) misbehaves, is brought into line by Cheika and 1) above comes about a little later down the track.

As nothing in KBs past suggests that either of those is very likely to happen I would prefer that the Tahs don't take what would be a pretty big gamble. However if Cheika decides to take that gamble then I would just have to be open minded and give KB (Kurtley Beale) a clean slate once he joined the Tahs. If he goes somewhere else and turns his life around and plays the best rugby of his life, then that would be the right move for him and I would have no regrets about him not coming back to the Tahs.

Either way I hope KB (Kurtley Beale) gets the help he needs to sort his life out, I love rugby to death but some things are more important.

 

[jay-c]

yes bring him back
ive said it before but if the tahs give KB (Kurtley Beale) the support structure he needs to overcome his issues and allows him to be the role model he needs to be then the tahs MUST take him back
australian rugby and australia in general stands to benefit so much from having kurtley succeed-
the nrl has in recent years really promoted their indigenous players with the all stars game etc and the kiwis take so much pride in their Maui heritage> we've got KB (Kurtley Beale)- lets not discard him
bring him back- give him the help he needs> get him into studying part time>promote him to a leadership role and be will be our best player

 

[Inside Shoulder]

jay-c He's not leadership material: how do you make him so?
Or do you mean some sort of marketing tool with his picture on everything?
There's a world of difference and since Super 15 is not a popularity contest the former is more important than latter.
What would you have him study? Responsible Service of Alcohol?

 

[jay-c]

on the field i believe he certainly is leadership material (vc/ in charge of the backs)
he captained all his teams growing up i believe> fairly dominant as far as reports go
every game ive seen him play for the last decade shows me how the other players look to him on the field. (especially the last few seasons at the waratahs)
plus> you'd be surprised how people can react given a bit of responsibility and freedom to perform (in sport as in business)
i wouldnt have any one player as a marketing tool too much risk> robinson, tpn, hooper, mitchell, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), beale and falou for me
its not what a person studies, but that they do study- hes a young man and the fact that hes now a professional player shouldnt exclude him from the benefits that a tertiary education would provide down the track>
study also has a way of keeping players busy in their down time and keeps the mind sharp in a way that only education can. i think you'll find many of the players do study part time

 

[Inside Shoulder]

A dominant player in a very structured environment: head and shoulders better than anyone he played with, and probably against.
That's enough to captain schoolboy teams but not beyond that.
I agree totally with your comments about study: unfortunately Beale was earmarked so young that he has not thought about life beyond football and none of his "mentors" caused him to do so.
Thats how he comes to be in the position he is in, IMO: he knows nothing but the life of a professional sportsman. His greatest "role model" role may be to stand as a warning to all aspiring parents, and their kids, about the dangers of focussing too early on one thing - particularly a thing you wont be able to do much beyond about 30.

 

[Hell West & Crooked]

Rugby has to look after him, not discard him.

However - he also has to decide once and for all whether he is going to switch to Mungoe - if he is, now is the time, and it would be unprofessional of him to waste the Tahs time if he is only going to switch in the next year or two...

I agree with Braveheart's comment - it looks to me like an 'Anger' issue as much as, or more than an Alchohol issue... I often find myself wondering what he has to be angry about!...

Cheika should be a good fit for him, he needs to get fit, and get busy - and he probably needs family.