goldfield titans - green light given!

[joondalup_giant]

WARL to examine proposal


10th November 2009, 9:00 WST




WA Rugby League officials Bill Nosworthy and Mark Street will deliver what they say will be a “favourable recommendation” when they formally present Goldfields Titans’ final business plan to the board of directors in Perth today.
Nosworthy and Street were suitably impressed during a visit to Kalgoorlie-Boulder on Friday which encompassed a meeting with the city council and an inspection of local facilities, including Titans’ proposed home ground at the Goldfields Oasis playing fields.
Friday’s visit was another significant step in Titans’ bid to be accepted in to the Statewide competition next year, but the green light still hinges on the views of the Perth-based clubs and the WARL board.
“We (WARL) has always had that connection here (with the Goldfields), but never really expanded it to the level it should be,” Nosworthy said.
Should Titans’ bid be successful, Nosworthy indicated an eventual move to the new Ray Finlayson Sporting Complex would be on the cards.
“We’re very keen for Titans to be part of the Oasis complex initially, but with a specific complex for rectangular sports being built, we’d eventually love to see them at that new site on a permanent basis,” he said.
On the state of the Goldfields Oasis facilities, Nosworthy said: “It’s probably, in different areas, a little bit short of what we’d normally see but in others, they are fantastic.

“For instance, the ability to finish a game and then undertake virtually instant rehabilitation in the pool right across from the ground is an enormous asset.
“We’ve been really impressed and one aspect of the bid which sticks out, based on the region’s previous experiences, is that it can’t fall back on just one person’s shoulders.
“By all means, you need leadership – but (operations manager) Robbie Hunt can’t do everything.
“The minute he’s not in the picture 100 per cent, you are a chance to fall over again and we don’t need that to happen.
“The previous club (Kalgoorlie Brothers) were made up of wonderful rugby league people who gave it an enormous amount of effort.
“But they probably needed to branch out into the community a little bit more than they did.”
A final decision on Titans’ bid is expected by the end of this week.
NEALE HARVEY

seems positive.

Only thing im critical on is that they folded 3/4's of the way through season 09 due aparently to lack of playing numbers.

It'd be good to see them back in the comp from a playing point of view and it'll obviously raise the profile of the comp especially now with the aparent announcement of the South West side.

Will be interesting to see whether the clubs support this side.

 

[albert]

I think the clubs will be ok with it,the more clubs in our competition the better it looks for an entry for a NRL team in W.A.

I agree with your concern regarding player numbers we all know the Goldfields is a mining town,and the problem was that when Kal were in over the last few seasons players were backing up after shift work.The question remains will it happen again?

 

[Perth Red]

Good luck Titans, yeh I can see playing numbers being an issue but with all the Kiwi & Q'land miners in town they should be able to keep a team. Would be nice if one of the mining companies got behind them.

 

[WA Roo]

Some clubs dont want to travel to kal anymore

 

[Nuke]

It is an expensive weekend for clubs. I can't even imagine how costly it would be for the Kalgoorlie / Goldfields teams to do it every 2nd weekend. I realise Kalgoorlie never stayed overnight, so you can take accommodation out of the cost, but geez, it'd still cost a bit with the bus hire and petrol, ect.

 

[Perth Red]

yeh the logistics are hard but the WARL does need to grwo and it does seem a place ripe for a team if the travel costs can be overcome. Have to admire them for trying and for being willing to drive that far every other weekend!

 

[Nuke]

It's madness! But they show a dedication not seen anywhere else in the WARL. Usually by the 5hr mark of the bus trip home (with 2-3hrs to go still), the Joondalup guys shake their heads at the thought of doing it every second weekend. There's a lot of respect for the Kalgoorlie players amongst the Joondalup club - and I'd say that'd be a pretty common thing amongst the other WARL teams too.

 

[joondalup_giant]

http://kalgoorlie.thewest.com.au/regionals.aspx?MenuID=244&ContentID=35456

Thumbs up for Titans


20th November 2009, 9:15 WST



Goldfields Titans’ official entry to rugby league’s Tooheys Cup competition next year is expected to be boosted by the inclusion of a healthy influx of eastern States players.
Following months of planning which included the compilation of a detailed business plan, the new Goldfields club was on Wednesday night given formal approval to line up in the 2010 Statewide competition.





After overseeing the bid as Titans’ operations manager, Rob Hunt will also lead the club’s on-field pursuits as head coach in which he is keen to take advantage of a wealth of untapped talent.
“Now that we’ve got the green light, a lot of people have stepped off the fence and on to the field,” Hunt said.
“I always knew we’d meet all the conditions requested and what WARL officials expect from the Goldfields, which is professionalism.
“The best news from an on-field perspective is that we’ve got players from Queensland and New South Wales.
“They have only just arrived in the Goldfields but are otherwise ready to go.”
Hunt indicated he would be part of an eventual four-man coaching panel which includes Mark Kaitamaki as assistant coach, with the two remaining positions still to be finalised.
After many years’ involvement with rugby league in a variety of roles, Hunt said he would be fulfilling a lifelong ambition as Titans’ head coach.
“We (Goldfields) have always been strong over the years, in every sport,” he said.
“To have rugby league as one of the senior sports representing the region, alongside the Goldfields Giants, is a dream come true for me.
“It just goes to show the Goldfields is not just about mining because we’ve also produced a lot of great sporting people.
“Now we’ve got the ball officially rolling, the real challenges lie ahead for everyone involved to make sure this team is fully equipped with the tools to participate in the Tooheys Cup competition.
“It (the successful bid) proves nothing is impossible and when people had said to me, ‘good luck to you’, I took that as a bit of sarcasm, but also used it as motivation to get the job done.”
Hunt has already been overseeing club training for several weeks, with the workload soon to be extended to three sessions per week ahead of the club’s opening game next May.
WARL operations director Mark Street yesterday welcomed Titans’ entry.
“We’re happy to see it come to this and the professionalism shown by the Titans has made it a relatively easy decision for us,” Street said.
“The business plan was very well presented and our recent Goldfields visit just reinforced everything for us.
“We’re pretty excited about the whole thing for them and again, the professionalism they’ve shown has been excellent and that’s also been the comment from the club’s down here (in Perth).”
NEALE HARVEY