http://www.souths.com.au/fanzone/vie...ArticleID=2218
souths.com.au:
The Headingley Experience Jeremy Scott tells of his memories from his exchange with Leeds
Rabbitohs Corporate Partnership Manager Jeremy Scott recently spent a month on exchange with South Sydneys global partners, the Leeds Rhinos, to see how they run their Rugby League Club, Rugby Union Club and other sporting experiences.
Mr Scott was lucky enough not only to spend a month with the Super League champions but he was also able to experience the lead up to the Grand Final and to be on hand at Old Trafford to watch the Rhinos knock over St Helens and be a part of the celebrations.
I experienced the whole finals race, arriving the day before Leeds final regular season game against Wakefield and leaving the day after the Grand Final victory, Jeremy said.
This was timed perfectly for me and the Club as I left a couple of days after our semi-final against Manly and arrived home on the day of the Rabbitohs sponsorship launch on a Sydney Harbour Cruise.
Jeremy said the visit to Leeds opened his eyes to new ways of conducting business in the Rugby League environment.
The trip to Leeds allowed me to see the way another Rugby League Club operates that is not a direct competitor to the Rabbitohs, Jeremy said.
Whilst I took notice of all areas of the business I heavily focused on everything corporate, including hospitality, signage, database structures, major sponsorships, events, game day entertainment, finance, advertising, ticketing, websites and management style.
The corporate department is run by Rob Oates. Rob is a lifelong Rhinos supporter, and as a lifelong Rabbitohs fan, we shared very similar interests and passions for our teams and formed a great friendship.
Very similar to the Rabbitohs, the Rhinos focus on customer service and over delivery to their corporate partners. This approach sees the Rhinos as the strongest Club in terms of corporate support in the Super League.
Long term corporate partnerships go along way to ensuring the stability of the Club and that was proven through their premiership victory and their Club of the Year award at the annual Men of Steel awards night, which is similar to our Dally M awards.
Mr Scott was lucky enough to follow the Rhinos throughout their charge to the premiership, an experience he says is valuable in playing his role in helping the Rabbitohs reach the same lofty heights.
I attended ten fixtures whilst in England including the final Rhinos regular season game against Wakefield where they had an easy victory, and I watched former Rabbitoh Duncan McGillivray running around for the Wildcats. Following was a semi final loss 8-10 against St Helens away from home in what was described at one of the classic Rugby League matches played in recent times. I also attended the home final win against Wigan with former South Sydney captain Bryan Fletcher retiring that night, the final of the National League which is the competition below the Super League between Castleford and Widnes at Headingley with Castleford winning the game elevating Terry Mattersons side into the Super League competition in 2008, two early season Rugby Union Leeds Carnegie fixtures, a University challenge Rugby Union game, the Rhinos under 21s Semi Final and Grand Final, and the Super League Grand Final win for Leeds against St Helens at Old Trafford, Jeremy said.
The majority of these games were held at Headingley (Leeds home ground) and allowed me to get a real understanding of the culture of not just the sponsors but the supporter base as well. I always believed that home ground crowds can provide an advantage for a side but the advantage the Rhinos receive from their home crowds is truly unbelievable. You have to be there to feel the crowd - all singing and chanting as one. Quite amazing.
Jeremy says the Grand Final experience was one he wont be forgetting any time soon.
The Grand Final was one of the greatest nights of my life and it consisted of:
- A corporate lunch at Headingley with over 300 corporate partners starting at 1pm;
- A 60-minute coach trip to Old Trafford in Manchester, the home of Manchester United FC;
- An hour in the ticket box assisting with the thousands of people picking up pre-ordered tickets;
- A pre-match talk with former Souths Coach and commentator Shaun McRae;
- A chat with Leeds Rhinos ambassador, former League great and now commentator Barrie McDermott;
- Hearing the stadium erupt when both teams ran onto the field for the Grand Final;
- Watching the emotion of CEO Gary Hetherington and Commercial Director Rob Oates during the game. Gary is cool, calm and collected and has seen it all before, whereas Rob was on his feet at every refereeing decision;
- Seeing Leeds run away with the victory in the second half. Watching the Blue and Amber crowd dominate the ground, building the atmosphere by singing and chanting in unison. From an hour prior to kick-off the Leeds crowd overpowered the St Helens fans and from that moment it just felt right that Leeds would beat the well favoured St Helens;
- Victory song at fulltime was a highlight and immediately I thought about singing Glory Glory with fellow staff members, sponsors and members when the red and green take out number 21. This experience has made me hungrier than ever to experience it;
- The hour-long coach ride home was full of celebrations with the staff and sponsors singing the victory song time and time again;
- Victory celebrations took place at Headingley. The team bus came back with the trophy and the players and coaches celebrated with sponsors and staff;
- Seeing an emotional speech from Head Coach Tony Smith, who was coaching his final game for Leeds that night before taking the reins of the Great Britain side in their current series against New Zealand;
- Chatting with Leeds fullback and international Brent Webb where he explained that this was the first Grand Final he had ever won. He was emotional and it was great to be a part of this experience with him and others like him;
- The next day was the homecoming celebration at Headingley for the fans to greet the players. Thousands and thousands of fans showed up and there was a real buzz, not just because of the Grand Final victory but it was also the farewell for Tony Smith, the most successful Leeds coach;
- I then did a mad rush to pack my bags as I was leaving the ground at 5pm for my flight. I had one drink with all staff, players and the CEO where I reflected on the past four weeks and more significantly on the last 30 hours. One of the great experiences of my time so far in Rugby League.
Theres no wonder I struggled to sleep on the 27 hour plane flight home. I was watching videos and highlights of the Grand Final on my camera. Then I headed straight home and onto the Rabbitohs corporate partners cruise with 400 corporates on Sydney Harbour.
What a couple of days. What an exciting time. I cant wait to experience it at the mighty Rabbitohs. How good is Rugby League
souths.com.au:
The Headingley Experience Jeremy Scott tells of his memories from his exchange with Leeds
Rabbitohs Corporate Partnership Manager Jeremy Scott recently spent a month on exchange with South Sydneys global partners, the Leeds Rhinos, to see how they run their Rugby League Club, Rugby Union Club and other sporting experiences.
Mr Scott was lucky enough not only to spend a month with the Super League champions but he was also able to experience the lead up to the Grand Final and to be on hand at Old Trafford to watch the Rhinos knock over St Helens and be a part of the celebrations.
I experienced the whole finals race, arriving the day before Leeds final regular season game against Wakefield and leaving the day after the Grand Final victory, Jeremy said.
This was timed perfectly for me and the Club as I left a couple of days after our semi-final against Manly and arrived home on the day of the Rabbitohs sponsorship launch on a Sydney Harbour Cruise.
Jeremy said the visit to Leeds opened his eyes to new ways of conducting business in the Rugby League environment.
The trip to Leeds allowed me to see the way another Rugby League Club operates that is not a direct competitor to the Rabbitohs, Jeremy said.
Whilst I took notice of all areas of the business I heavily focused on everything corporate, including hospitality, signage, database structures, major sponsorships, events, game day entertainment, finance, advertising, ticketing, websites and management style.
The corporate department is run by Rob Oates. Rob is a lifelong Rhinos supporter, and as a lifelong Rabbitohs fan, we shared very similar interests and passions for our teams and formed a great friendship.
Very similar to the Rabbitohs, the Rhinos focus on customer service and over delivery to their corporate partners. This approach sees the Rhinos as the strongest Club in terms of corporate support in the Super League.
Long term corporate partnerships go along way to ensuring the stability of the Club and that was proven through their premiership victory and their Club of the Year award at the annual Men of Steel awards night, which is similar to our Dally M awards.
Mr Scott was lucky enough to follow the Rhinos throughout their charge to the premiership, an experience he says is valuable in playing his role in helping the Rabbitohs reach the same lofty heights.
I attended ten fixtures whilst in England including the final Rhinos regular season game against Wakefield where they had an easy victory, and I watched former Rabbitoh Duncan McGillivray running around for the Wildcats. Following was a semi final loss 8-10 against St Helens away from home in what was described at one of the classic Rugby League matches played in recent times. I also attended the home final win against Wigan with former South Sydney captain Bryan Fletcher retiring that night, the final of the National League which is the competition below the Super League between Castleford and Widnes at Headingley with Castleford winning the game elevating Terry Mattersons side into the Super League competition in 2008, two early season Rugby Union Leeds Carnegie fixtures, a University challenge Rugby Union game, the Rhinos under 21s Semi Final and Grand Final, and the Super League Grand Final win for Leeds against St Helens at Old Trafford, Jeremy said.
The majority of these games were held at Headingley (Leeds home ground) and allowed me to get a real understanding of the culture of not just the sponsors but the supporter base as well. I always believed that home ground crowds can provide an advantage for a side but the advantage the Rhinos receive from their home crowds is truly unbelievable. You have to be there to feel the crowd - all singing and chanting as one. Quite amazing.
Jeremy says the Grand Final experience was one he wont be forgetting any time soon.
The Grand Final was one of the greatest nights of my life and it consisted of:
- A corporate lunch at Headingley with over 300 corporate partners starting at 1pm;
- A 60-minute coach trip to Old Trafford in Manchester, the home of Manchester United FC;
- An hour in the ticket box assisting with the thousands of people picking up pre-ordered tickets;
- A pre-match talk with former Souths Coach and commentator Shaun McRae;
- A chat with Leeds Rhinos ambassador, former League great and now commentator Barrie McDermott;
- Hearing the stadium erupt when both teams ran onto the field for the Grand Final;
- Watching the emotion of CEO Gary Hetherington and Commercial Director Rob Oates during the game. Gary is cool, calm and collected and has seen it all before, whereas Rob was on his feet at every refereeing decision;
- Seeing Leeds run away with the victory in the second half. Watching the Blue and Amber crowd dominate the ground, building the atmosphere by singing and chanting in unison. From an hour prior to kick-off the Leeds crowd overpowered the St Helens fans and from that moment it just felt right that Leeds would beat the well favoured St Helens;
- Victory song at fulltime was a highlight and immediately I thought about singing Glory Glory with fellow staff members, sponsors and members when the red and green take out number 21. This experience has made me hungrier than ever to experience it;
- The hour-long coach ride home was full of celebrations with the staff and sponsors singing the victory song time and time again;
- Victory celebrations took place at Headingley. The team bus came back with the trophy and the players and coaches celebrated with sponsors and staff;
- Seeing an emotional speech from Head Coach Tony Smith, who was coaching his final game for Leeds that night before taking the reins of the Great Britain side in their current series against New Zealand;
- Chatting with Leeds fullback and international Brent Webb where he explained that this was the first Grand Final he had ever won. He was emotional and it was great to be a part of this experience with him and others like him;
- The next day was the homecoming celebration at Headingley for the fans to greet the players. Thousands and thousands of fans showed up and there was a real buzz, not just because of the Grand Final victory but it was also the farewell for Tony Smith, the most successful Leeds coach;
- I then did a mad rush to pack my bags as I was leaving the ground at 5pm for my flight. I had one drink with all staff, players and the CEO where I reflected on the past four weeks and more significantly on the last 30 hours. One of the great experiences of my time so far in Rugby League.
Theres no wonder I struggled to sleep on the 27 hour plane flight home. I was watching videos and highlights of the Grand Final on my camera. Then I headed straight home and onto the Rabbitohs corporate partners cruise with 400 corporates on Sydney Harbour.
What a couple of days. What an exciting time. I cant wait to experience it at the mighty Rabbitohs. How good is Rugby League
