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Knights new Football Committee announced

Still Nutty

Juniors
Messages
867
http://www.theherald.com.au/story/5259848/geoff-coburn-to-head-knights-new-football-committee/

FORMER Parramatta, Newtown and Western Suburbs (Newcastle) forward Geoff Coburn will be the acting chairman for the Knights at official NRL functions after being appointed head of the club’s new football committee.

Coburn will be joined on the committee – formed to oversee the Knights’ football operations and advise new owners the Wests Group – by Wests chairman Owen Kilpatrick, long-serving sports administrator John Quayle, and club legend Danny Buderus.

Coburn, 59, has spent a lifetime in rugby league.

After launching his career with Wests Rosellas, winning a Newcastle Rugby League grand final in 1980, he joined Parramatta and appeared in 20 first-grade games in 1981 and 1982, alongside champions such as Peter Sterling, Brett Kenny, Ray Price, Mick Cronin, Steve Ella and Eric Grothe.

He played 12 games for Newtown in 1983, before returning to Newcastle and re-joining Wests. He featured in a handful of reserve-grade games for the Knights in 1988 and is a member of the club’s Old Boys.

The head physical-education teacher at Lambton High School, Coburn has served on the Wests Group board of directors for 24 years.

“The committee will provide support for the Knights as well as football in the community,” Coburn said in a statement.

“Of course, we want to ensure the Knights team has everything it needs to be successful on the field, including the best equipment and facilities.

“More than that, though, the committee is here to help get more kids interested in rugby league, to foster participation and work on enhancing the elite pathways.”

It is understood Kilpatrick, who has served on the Wests boardroom for a remarkable 45 years, the past 12 as chairman, had no burning desire to represent the Knights at the various meetings and functions club chairmen are required to attend.

Kilpatrick played eight seasons for Wests, and in his time on the board, the club has won 15 first-grade premierships.

“Having the committee will help us keep the club focused on the right direction, winning football games and having the right people, with the right character and the right ability involved,” he said.

In his capacity as chief executive of the NSW Rugby League, Quayle was primarily responsible for inviting Newcastle to enter the top-tier competition in 1988.

More recently he spent three years on the Knights’ board, after the demise in 2014 of controversial former owner Nathan Tinkler.

“Over recent years the football club hasn't really known where it was going, and the new ownership gives the club financial security and direction,” Quayle said.

“The football committee is a very important step in rebuilding the club, and it will help provide direction, from development teams to first grade.

“Geoff and Owen have very good football knowledge and provide that link back to the Wests board, while Danny's profile, contacts and knowledge of both the club and the game will be invaluable.”

Buderus will juggle his roles as a commentator and NSW Origin assistant coach with the committee’s bi-monthly meetings.

“The No.1 purpose from my perspective is to support [football manager] Darren Mooney and [head coach] Nathan Brown in all things football,” he said.

“The people on the committee all bring different skills, and I believe we can make and support the right football decisions for the success of the club.

“I've always understood that the team and the town really do need each other, and if we can harness that and all work together, we can hopefully see some very good results.”
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From my perspective, a smart move by the Wests Group Board who have acknowledged limited to no knowledge and expertise in the football club side of the operations.

I expect that their role will not be to interfere in the operational matters directly but to give the Board an objective mechanism to provide advice and assessment on the broader team and coaching staff performance to assess if KPIs are being reached and if mitigating factors, from a football perspective, have effected this. This will be important based on how the club are now focussing on KPIs in the contractual relationships with players and staff. It may also be a touch-point for the board to provide strategic assessment of recruitment and retention policies for the team as these issues crop up.

What do others think about the appointees or the Committee idea in general?
 

Pedge1971

First Grade
Messages
5,898
Yep they seem to be pulling all the right reins off the field which is equally if not more important than what happens on the park.

Finally see a sustainable future for this footy club.
 

Spot On

Coach
Messages
13,897
I think you've hit the nail on the head Nutty.

I'm not bothered by fluff like KPIs etc though. Common sense should be enough to help steer the ship for blokes with football experience like Bedsy, Quayle and co.
 

Still Nutty

Juniors
Messages
867
I think you've hit the nail on the head Nutty.

I'm not bothered by fluff like KPIs etc though. Common sense should be enough to help steer the ship for blokes with football experience like Bedsy, Quayle and co.

Yep, I agree that common sense should be the guide as a general rule but when you start linking contract bonuses or potential clauses to terminate a contract based on under performance around KPIs, as they indicate they have done with Pearce and plan to do so with Brown, these guys can provide the board some football context and give guidance on what may or may not be mitigating factors in a footballing sense

I know it sounds a bit dry and out there but I'm thinking after the way the Des Hasler debacle at the Doggies is playing out, clubs need to ensure they are covering themselves when it comes to player and coaching contracts and I think the Wests board are obviously smart enough to realise that.
 

Spot On

Coach
Messages
13,897
Yep, you make a lot of sense.

I'm just not a fan of the KPI bs. Too much of it in sport as it is. Many organisiations have all that fluff to track players, coaches and administrators and yet they are all perennial underachievers. The Wallabies spring to mind as an example. Other organisations have "high performance managers' yet their teams do not perform at a high standard - ever. More PC and bs that has been introduced into the professional era of sport.

But you make a good point re Des and the debacle at Canterbury.
 

Still Nutty

Juniors
Messages
867
I was looking for this thread...

I wonder if this Committee ever actually did anything?

They might have operated behind closed doors for a period but I can't recall seeing anything about them in the media.

I'd also have to assume they are no longer in existence since Canavan has come on board.

Does anybody recall anything they were publicly recognised for?
 

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