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Unpopular opinion thread

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Slim 293

Stirling Mortlock (74)
I'll pop one in for Brett McKay from this weeks podcast because I actually agree with him.

Bill Pulver until this debacle with cutting a team has done an above average job as ARU CEO.



I have to agree.... I thought that until this whole debacle Pulver was doing a reasonably good job.
 

FiveStarStu

Bill McLean (32)
I'll pop one in for Brett McKay from this weeks podcast because I actually agree with him.



Bill Pulver until this debacle with cutting a team has done an above average job as ARU CEO.



He had done his job as a CEO. I don't think it was necessarily good for the game but he did what his board asked effectively - growing 7s and pumping up participation (no matter how artificial the numbers).

Regardless, he and the board have been found out.
 

ChargerWA

Mark Loane (55)
He had done his job as a CEO. I don't think it was necessarily good for the game but he did what his board asked effectively - growing 7s and pumping up participation (no matter how artificial the numbers).

Regardless, he and the board have been found out.
He also gave us the NRC and cut some costs.
 

Micheal

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
He also gave us the NRC and cut some costs.


Cut a lot of costs.

Written as the five words above, that doesnt really seem like much but he (off the top of my head):

+ Negotiated with RUPA for all players and Wallabies to take a pay cut.
+ Took a self appointed pay cut.
+ Negotiated for the board to forego compensation for a period of time.
+ Streamlined the ARU's operations and (unfortunately) laid off ~20 staff.
+ Implemented a 4% pay cut of all remaining staff at the ARU (including himself on top of his previous pay cut).
+ Boosted revenue through better broadcasting deals (although, Super 18, look what happened there).
+ Merged offices with the NSWRU to cut rental costs.
+ Merged back office operations of the ARU with the Force (maybe other franchises).

None of that would've been easy.

The NRC is massive as well. Something that Australian rugby really needed. Imagine if we didn't have a third tier?

That, of course, wasn't easy as well. He had to negotiate with all Grade competitions around Australia, and as we all know, the Shute Shield (as an entity) aren't often that willing to sit down over a cuppa and discuss compromises.

Its paid huge dividends (if not in player development, which is often contested here) but in terms of talent exposure, recruitment, coach development and squad cohesion.

Add to that 7s, women's rugby and Viva 7s and he's done alright in my books.

That said, and I have been a Pulver apologist for a long while, he (and the wider ARU) have completely absolutely 100% fucking kook'd this whole team cutting process and I don't know if Pulver will survive it. That makes me sad, considering his contributions to, and passion for, the game but perhaps he was the businessman we needed to save the game from immediate financial ruin, and maybe now its time for a rugby visionary to step in and charter its course from survival to success.
 

Micheal

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
Care to elaborate?
Particularly interested in the coach development.


IS we've discussed this elsewhere. Put simply:

+ The bests coaches from the best competitions nationwide are pitted against each other. It provides more paid roles for coaches at a higher level with greater exposure. That's certainly not harmful for their development.

+ The best players from the best competitions nationwide are pitted against each other.

It provides a far better indication of talent than the best players in the Shute Shield running over the worst players in the Shute Shield / the hung over players / the players who don't really care, week-in-week-out.

+ From such indication of talent teams can sign players from other areas of Australia with an informed opinion of how they will perform. For instance, the Force signed Naisarani and Phillip after doozy NRC performances.

We have many, many more instances of this. Kerevi, Gordon, Simone, Perese, L. Tui, Banks, Powell, Staniforth, Dempsey, Holloway, Jones, Newsome, RHP,

+ The poor performing Super sides, e.g. Force and Rebels, retain the bulk of their squad during Wallabies duties and therefore effectively have another minor competition to train as a cohesive unit.

+ If nothing else, the players have said it provides a smoother transition from club footy to Super rugby and they, by large, endorse it. Of course they could be lying but anonymous surveys and Occam's Razor and all that.

It has also helped Wallabies return from injury (Douglas, Simmons, Cooper) and new signings to acclimatize to Australian rugby / their Super squad (Meakes). It's likewise helped the transition of league converts, e.g. Paia'aua, Hunt and Robinson or people to new positions, e.g. Lance.

Look up my old posts but I'm not going to bore everyone with further explanation as I've already written more than I originally intended to.

We understand you don't like the NRC.
 

Strewthcobber

Simon Poidevin (60)
Yea Bil Pulver is a popular scapegoat for the real cause of our rapid descent, player migration to Europe.

Though he certainly isn't an exceptional CEO either. We are going to need someone exceptional to pull us up.
WE need a CEO who can achieve the only thing that has ever dramatically improved the profile of, interest in and finances of the game in this country.

We need one who wins us sole host of a world cup
 

RugbyReg

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
Roy and HG used to speak of the Hardwick Factor - a similar concept.

It was the exact same concept. Kevin Hardwick was described as the most average player in the NSWRL so players could be rated in terms of Hardwick. Benny Elias would be 8 Hardwicks. Scott Gale would be 4.

It was suggested that Tom Carter was the most average player in Australian Super Rugby and we could do the same.

Unpopular as it may be, I think it still has merit!
 

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
No one else's hair even rated a 0.5 on the Kevin Hardwick scale though.

Kevin-Hardwick.jpg


Can we please stop talking about the 1989 Grand Final now. It's still the saddest day of my life.
 

wamberal

Phil Kearns (64)
It was the exact same concept. Kevin Hardwick was described as the most average player in the NSWRL so players could be rated in terms of Hardwick. Benny Elias would be 8 Hardwicks. Scott Gale would be 4.

It was suggested that Tom Carter was the most average player in Australian Super Rugby and we could do the same.

Unpopular as it may be, I think it still has merit!


Mmm, I use the term "average" when describing Carter to mean something entirely different.
 

Inside Shoulder

Nathan Sharpe (72)
No one else's hair even rated a 0.5 on the Kevin Hardwick scale though.



Can we please stop talking about the 1989 Grand Final now. It's still the saddest day of my life.

and the Gillmeister Box, IIRC;
South Coast news read by Paul Murphy, with every local government post and job filled by some famous sportsman who retired to the area.
 

Inside Shoulder

Nathan Sharpe (72)
IS we've discussed this elsewhere. Put simply:

+ The bests coaches from the best competitions nationwide are pitted against each other. It provides more paid roles for coaches at a higher level with greater exposure. That's certainly not harmful for their development.

We understand you don't like the NRC.

But all the coaches, pretty much, are form the respective grade comps - so they're not unknown.
has anyone one of them graduated from NRC to something higher in its short life? That surely is the test of whether its going anything for our coaching stock.
I like the idea of the NRC - not sure how you can give credit to BP for it when the ARU refuses to finance it.
A more accurate unpopular opinion would be that the NRC is as good as it is despite BP.
i think its implementation is poor but i support the concept.
 
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