2017 will be even worse with a lot of members like myself not renewing. I have had enough of the club being incompetent and the blind faith has worn thin for me.
I personally don't care who is president or who is on the board but I do expect us to make money and I do expect us to improve our onfeild proformances from the last 30 odd years.
2016 has been a disgrace and IMO the club hasn't made enough changes to remedy the situation. Getting rid of assistant coaches and bring in Balme and basically making minimal changes to our list isn't going to get the job done.
I must admit I'm really peeed off at our current club and the way it's taken away my passion for supporting it. I've never in all my years been so disillusioned with the RFC.
Okay.
I really hear you and understand where you're at.
This gives me a chance to say some things which I've thought about over the last day or so.
One of my last posts was a bit overwrought but describes a similar spot to where you are at.
I believe this is one of the last chances for us members to turn things around and avoid becoming a middling club forever.
I have posted (a lot) about the various moves the board has made.
Most of these moves however really come back to how the board shapes it's "ethics".
Despite what I've posted, there is nothing inherently wrong with the Nominations Committee, Election By-Laws or constitutional amendments.
It's simply how they're used in practice to IMO subvert the members will or even allow members to participate fully.
This year we have the chance through strong board candidates to make the first move.
If Casey and Wallace remove Ryan and Dunne, I think it will send a strong message to reform the way the club operates.
With only two positions each year it may need another election or more to FORCE change.
If they do not succeed then I think we are in for more of the same, despite director limits.
The club has made moves to subtly change the footy department.
- Bringing in Balme is a good move.
- Shifting Richardson sideways can be a good move.
- Coaching changes at least show an awareness of a problem
- List Management remains a worry with lack of key players and a seeming lack of an overall list plan.
- The slight changes in Recruiting are underwhelming.
- Medical and Fitness seem to have not been improved at all.
Next season will show whether these changes are enough to shift direction or, as I suspect, fail to be enough.
Just as an aside on List Management I think we missed a huge chance to fundamentally alter our thinking.
IMO, we should have delisted Maric, Batchelor, Lambert and Butler allowing us to improve our list short-term by bringing in Barlow and Richards. A missed opportunity.
With the coaching and List changes I would like to see more empowered players, excited to be involved at the highest level, aware of the huge chance to set themselves up for life and appreciative of the benefits they have now and into the future. A big part of this will be the senior players driving this attitudinal re-set.
I would like to see us take big, strong, athletic, key players in the draft with an even greater chance to do this next year.
We will have to wait and see how the changes this year will affect next year and beyond.
If these benefits do not come with our present staff they can be moved on next year after an intensive search for alternatives.
But we have the chance this year to START the process.
Don't give up now.
Buy a membership next year and push for improvement.
If it's just more of the same then I'll be with you.
Out the door and never looking back.
Sorry about the length but I am feeling the need to vent. Probably like a lot of us.
