Wests Tigers Centre of Excellence

Kaito said:
I agree with you, 5kgs is still 5kgs and all that, but it can't be underestimated how much a professional enviroment helps in fostering a winning culture ... Especially after operating out of an old 80's Soviet bus shelter at the old Concord + being underfunded for all those years. Look like a winner - feel like a winner etc etc.
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I can see how the facilities can contribute to ongoing success after we have the people right.
 
BAGNF05 said:
Need better players to attract better players. Better facilities might help but a change in culture is more important than any gym.
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I would argue that state-of-the-art facilities would be one pillar of any attempt to change the culture of an organisation.

I can even speak from recent experience - my employer recently bought a (larger) competitor and have spent the last year starting to integrate the two workforces. It's technically a takeover but they are handling it like a merger, to try and retain all staff and not spook the acquired employees into mass resignations.

One of the strategies my employer has taken has been to spruik up all facilities, because in merging two companies you typically don't need to retain all the facilities / leases of both companies, which would be inefficient.

In Sydney they closed our office and totally refurbished everything. We now have a huge canteen-style kitchen, large LED monitors, lounges, extra desks etc. etc. The old office wasn't bad but the new one is streaks ahead. It honestly makes a difference to walk in and feel like the company is taking the facilities seriously, that the company has the strength and finances to take their facilities seriously, and to offer old and merged employees with an impressive modern workplace.

And I say that as someone who works from home 99% of the time!

You can only go for so long trying to spin a feeling that you are an underdog, when in reality your employer is poor and has shitty facilities. And I would wager this is especially true for new young players who are attracted to shiny things.
 
tigerballs said:
Just walking around the joint, half finished, you really get a good feeling about it. It's a superb venue and if you were a young bloke who thought you had half a chance, you'd just think well... I've got everything I need, up to me now.
Mate, I'm 63 and I felt like training the house down!
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Did they give any word when it's going to be finished? Already 6 months late, every month longer just keeps making us look amateur.
 
The CoE is a step forward in terms of perception of professionalism. Players will want to train at centralised state of the art facilities rather than do field and gym work at a 40 year old facility that's had barely more than a coat of paint in that time, and then have to go to university facilities for recovery and shit like that. To have it brand spanking new, and all in one spot, is a good way to supplement competitive contract offers, or to attract promising young players from other clubs.

In saying all this, a new CoE only goes so far, there needs to be a huge improvement in professionalism from the front office to complement this. The perception in the media, other clubs fans and our own fans is that it is at best a Keystone Cops operation. This is the next immediate issue that has to be resolved after the opening of the CoE otherwise we will not be able to ever routinely attract any top line talent.
 
Cultured_Bogan said:
In saying all this, a new CoE only goes so far, there needs to be a huge improvement in professionalism from the front office to complement this. The perception in the media, other clubs fans and our own fans is that it is at best a Keystone Cops operation. This is the next immediate issue that has to be resolved after the opening of the CoE otherwise we will not be able to ever routinely attract any top line talent.
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Very interesting comment. What about the perception of the players? Media, other fans and our fans don't really count when we aren't signing the contracts.

I'm not saying you are wrong, I'd just like to know if players really, en masse, think Tigers are an unprofessional organisation. Because players surely know better; they have more information than fans do, they know how clubs work and they have less emotional ties to the results of clubs they don't play for.

One cannot simply say "of course we are unprofessional that's why nobody joins us", because that's both unprovable and not accurate when, clearly, players do come to Tigers. There are very many reasons why players might be hesitant to join Tigers, and it may actually be that "club unprofessionalism" is not one of the major issues.

I personally would like to meet Lee H in person, so I can judge him for myself. He might be an absolute turkey, or he may be quite an impressive person, regardless of however it might appear in media.

For example I think Michael Ennis is a tosser and I hate the sound of his voice, but I am reliably informed that he's a really nice bloke.
 
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