General You're now the sole owner of the Warriors. What is your plan?

[kenny44]

So every other thread on here seems to be pointing out the many problems this franchise has, and rightly so.

But let's try and get a positive thread going.

Here's the situation.

You've just become the sole, 100%, outright owner of the Warriors. You own the team, and you can do anything you like. Money is no limitation, apart from the salary cap.

Where do you start?
What is your plan?
Who do you employ?
What changes would you make?
How do you want this team to play?

...or do you pop it on TradeMe at $1 reserve?

You have a clean slate.

The question is, where do we go from here?

 

[bruce]

Repaint the gymnasium for starters. Honest that would be job number one.
Ask SK about the Brisbane and Melbourne recruitment systems and find somebody to implement them, money is no object.
Stop all the bullshit advertising. The Warriors are not a superman club, yet, but we are aiming to be.
Ask the fans to be patient, don't bullshit them.
Otherwise things are not that bad, we are still ahead of Souths and the Dogs.
Let SK get on with the job.

 

[mt.wellington]

Close the company down. Rename the club. Renegotiate player contracts. Start from the ground up rebuilding the place...

 

[flying coconut]

Give Kearney a 5 year extension.

 

[tajhay]

You've just become the sole, 100%, outright owner of the Warriors. You own the team, and you can do anything you like. Money is no limitation, apart from the salary cap.

Sell the club.

 

[bruce]

Sell the club.

Watson is already trying that apparently. He got it for nicks he can give it away for nicks IMO.

 

[Johnnyray]

Awesome. Me ? There's a few things I would do :

1.) Rename your club and sports organization back to "The Auckland Warriors".

2.) Rebrand your team logo. Replace team colors. Me, I would go back to the original team logo of 'Maori Warrior' jumping out at you, holding league ball, only I would darken his skin this time as white skin on a 'Maori Warrior' is wholly inappropriate and for me personally offensive. I would also return team colors back to more traditional Auckland colors of white and blue, with white shoes, white socks, white shorts, blue shirt and a couple of white v lines below collar.

3.) Reinstate team culture into your current players by redefining your club history and its shared sense of destiny. I would start with working with Auckland Council and Auckland Rugby League into renaming Mount Smart Stadium, Carlaw Park. I would then have the entire history of Carlaw Park brought over and hung all over walls of clubrooms, changing rooms etc of Mt Smart Stadium as a way of reinforcing to players that being here you're not just part of club but a part of history and that it's up to you what sort of legacy you want to leave. I would also get alot of former Auckland Players along with number former NZ Warriors players to come and occasionally talk to them and train along side them to help reinstall the values of this place.

4.) To set an example that everyone is expandable and no one player is bigger than club itself, I would cut and get rid of a number of our star players including Johnson. I would also start hiring most of our coaching roster from Australia including recruitment manager. No longer would there be "Jobs For Boys". I would then look to hire Geoff Toovey as our head coach, along with Ricky Henry as his assistant and move Rueben Wiki in advisory position as well. I would then go and fill our spine with Australian Players, look to Pacific based players to fill our forwards and New Zealand based players to fill our backs. I also would refrain from hiring 'Star Players' as we have done in the past and instead look to spend our cap more equally over the entire team squad so to have a much more balance roster of players in team (i.e James Maloney and Matt Moylan as our halves).

5.) Cry.

 

[jonno]

I'd also rename the club the Auckland Warriors.

As for the logo, I'd have three. A Maori Warrior, A P.I. Warrior and a European Warrior. Have them all on the same poster some of the time and rotate them as single images. Do something that actually promotes racial harmony in the city we live in.

Recruitment would become more based on merit and less on location. And I'd have a geographic quota to maintain this in our junior squad.. More diversity of thought than just industrial-poverty South-Auckland is what we need big time for the kids.

Pick players on Merit. If a guy like Kata is saying he isn't mentally up for the games, don't fucken pick him for the games. It's not rocket surgery.

Pick players who have the mental skills to play the game at the elite level. Test them to find out if they have them or not. It's also not rocket surgery. Weekly checkers comps to give them a mental workout, or something like that. Maybe have a chess comp for the spine players. Rewards and punishments in effect for winning and losing of course.

New trainers who don't drink Kava. It's not a performance enhancing drug. We should also be working with Steroids as much as is legally possible. It aint cheating if you can't be caught.

That's all I got for right now.

 

[Trugoy]

1. Sack everyone
2. Do whatever it took to get Craig Bellamy as head coach and give him free reign.
3. Pray.

 

[bruce]

We should also be working with Steroids as much as is legally possible. It aint cheating if you can't be caught.

I laughed at that then I remembered that way back last century there was a certain doctor in South Auckland, now sadly passed away, who was "suspected" of supplying performance enhancing drugs to athletes, including rugby league players. Many of the ones I knew experienced health problems as they aged.

I would start with working with Auckland Council and Auckland Rugby League into renaming Mount Smart Stadium, Carlaw Park. I would then have the entire history of Carlaw Park brought over and hung all over walls of clubrooms, changing rooms etc of Mt Smart Stadium as a way of reinforcing to players that being here you're not just part of club but a part of history and that it's up to you what sort of legacy you want to leave.

Disclaimer: Johnnyray and Bruce are not related...but they totally agree on this.

Back last century when all the big games were played at Carlaw Park the players entrance was past rooms full of photographs of past teams, the place was full of history that you felt part of. None of this touchy feel bro flea market colouring shite. WTF did that come from? Whoever thought up that shite?

What does it add to the historic culture of this game in New Zealand?

Auckland Rugby League did not start in the flea markets of South Auckland. It started with working men, and women, working their guts out behind the scenes to promote the game in their own time in their own clubs. They did it for the love of the game, and they did a much better job that this bunch of suit wearing corporate flunkies will ever do.

Guys like Ron McGregor and George Rainey, both successful businessmen who gave so much of their own time without a cent of compensation to make the Auckland Rugby League the success it was. The first chairman Peter McLeod was so "wealthy" that during the Super League wars he had to collect the Chairman of the Australian Rugby League from Auckland Airport in his aging car.

Peter McLeod didn't work for this. His dream was valid and got taken over by corporate flunkies.

I reckon most true rugby league fans would be happy to return to the basics, and the history of the past. That is what is happening in Newcastle.

 

[drake83]

1. Would invest money into fox and fund a new improved 6 team local comp. Get as many kiwi boys back from Queensland and NSW to bolster the teams through this comp appoint full time coaches and establish academies with these clubs that work with their local junior leagues to get eyes on the jnr talent early. Offer top senior and junior talent money, scholarships, housing to stay in NZ. Grow these competitions over a period of time and bring in Australian coaches etc.
Stop the leaking of our kids into the aussie systems stronger domestic comp means stronger warrior teams and stronger kiwi teams

2. Re brand the warriors as the Auckland Warriors bring an identity to the club and bring in the rich Auckland league history for the players to leave a mark.

 

[Salatape]

Move the team to Christchurch

 

[Tragic]

I would just keep taking those dum fellas ticket money, sky's cash and all that jersey money and spend as little of it as I had to keeping the club above water. Then spend all that profit I made on my model girlfriends, some flash new overly white and straight teeth and having a good time.
Yeah its me Eric, mwahahahaa.

 

[jonno]

I laughed at that then I remembered that way back last century there was a certain doctor in South Auckland, now sadly passed away, who was "suspected" of supplying performance enhancing drugs to athletes, including rugby league players. Many of the ones I knew experienced health problems as they aged.

All things in moderation IMO. Steroids are great for recovery and rehab... And they can give a little boost without doing any damage.

The only reason they are illegal is because people have overused them to their own personal determent..

 

[gREVUS]

As money is no object i would get (bribe) the ARL to set all away games to happen consecutively.
All away games (Aus side) play out in the middle of the season. Travel is then taken off the table. And they get to play in NZ when interest is highest, the start and end of the season.
i would base the club in Tweed Heads, just inside the NSW border for 2/3 months of the year. Theres the gold coast airport less than 20 mins up the road and all flights to games are internal.
Provide apartments for players in/round Tweed Heads and let them own/rent what they like in NZ. The apartments would not be in the player cap as it is a requirement of their job. Just like the hotels they stay in now.

I think travel is the biggest issue in being a warrior.

The apartments to be used by players in the off season as i would probably train them over there month on month off. And where Bennett could take a real hand in the development of the club without having to leave Brisbane. Bennett to be director of coaching.

 

[AlexM]

1.Pay a hit man to take out blocker roache.
2.???
3.Profit

 

[mt.wellington]

I'd also rename the club the Auckland Warriors.

First thing Id do is completely remove myself from the old club. New name, new logo. Total rebrand...

 

[gREVUS]

First thing Id do is completely remove myself from the old club. New name, new logo. Total rebrand...

so a whole new set of clothing to collect, clever

 

[Off The Bench]

Sign Ivan Cleary as coach of reserves till end of the season
an then head of coaching role ,
Sgn Ivan Clearys son ,
Get rid of Wiki an Iro
Change club name
An install a different culture were if you
can't learn , Your free to go. No excuses
I would hire Mr Campian an Mr luck to work
with individuals on Defense an mentoring
I would also hire a specialist in improving concentration
an communication , If you do the army courses they get you
fatigued an then bombard with questions to teach you how to
get your brain switched on an not in some far off place, Sharks used a whistle
system in which when the whistle went off you had to get to the bike she'd in 45 seconds
an pump out 15 minutes on the bikes , The coach was doing this when they thought they had
finished , It's designed to upset your routine , An teach you how to push through when you're done,
I would also have team debrief sessions one straight after a game an one after training , Where players
are required to challenge each other about the game , an trainings , Israeli special forces use this
an found it changed group dynamic an leadership structures ,
We are not failing in having talent,
we are failing in developing an maintaining talent

 

[bruce]

Sharks used a whistle
system in which when the whistle went off you had to get to the bike she'd in 45 seconds
an pump out 15 minutes on the bikes , The coach was doing this when they thought they had
finished , It's designed to upset your routine , An teach you how to push through when you're done,

Good point. Some, but not all of these guys have heaps left in their tanks, they just don't seem to know it.