The Review .

[MC Gusto]

The findings of the review would have been relevant / necessary if there wasn’t substantive change

Given we’ve overhauled the coaching and operations team I’d argue the findings are less relevant - the outcome has been delivered!

RTB

[Jacks Back]

Monty Python - Mr Neville Shunt (i.e. The Review)

Art Critic: (John Cleese) Some people have made the mistake of seeing Shunt's work as a load of rubbish about railway timetables, but clever people like me, who talk loudly in restaurants, see this as a deliberate ambiguity, a plea for understanding in a mechanized world. The points are frozen, the beast is dead. What is the difference? What indeed is the point? The point is frozen, the beast is late out of Paddington. The point is taken. If La Fontaine's elk would spurn Tom Jones the engine must be our head, the dining car our esophagus, the guard's van our left lung, the cattle truck our shins, the first-class compartment the piece of skin at the nape of the neck and the level crossing an electric elk called Simon. The clarity is devastating. But where is the ambiguity? It's over there in a box. Shunt is saying the 8:15 from Gillingham when in reality he means the 8:13 from Gillingham. The train is the same only the time is altered. Ecce homo, ergo elk. La Fontaine knew his sister and knew her bloody well. The point is taken, the beast is moulting, the fluff gets up your nose. The illusion is complete; it is reality, the reality is illusion and the ambiguity is the only truth. But is the truth, as Hitchcock observes, in the box? No there isn't room, the ambiguity has put on weight. The point is taken, the elk is dead, the beast stops at Swindon, Chabrol stops at nothing, I'm having treatment and La Fontaine can get knotted.

[realdeal]

The findings are in.....

[Sainter_Dad]

This note is to provide you with a high-level summary of the findings and recommendations of the Review of our Football Program, initiated in late July, to ensure that we were indeed building the foundations for long-term football success.

In short, the Review found that we had much to do, and needed significant change to build these foundations. You will see from the staffing appointments already announced that we are moving aggressively to implement the Review’s findings.

The Board and Management now have a very clear shared view of what needs to be done to ensure success and a firm resolve to deliver on it. I am now more optimistic than ever about the future of our Club.

We need your continued support as we work to ensure that our future is far more successful than our past.

1. THE REVIEW – METHODOLOGY
I initiated the Review to examine if our overall Football Program was suitable to make us a genuine contender on a sustainable basis and, if not, to recommend changes in which we could have conviction.
I led the process along with a Committee comprising fellow Board members Russell Caplan, Jason Blake and Dean Anderson, as well as CEO Simon Lethlean and the experienced and respected football administrator David Noble.
Through the Review, I spoke with over 100 people including current coaches, players, other football and non-football staff and external football people associated with the Club and otherwise. David Noble also conducted independent interviews with key players, coaches, other staff and stakeholders.
An independent assessment of our current playing list and list management performance was conducted by an external expert (Glenn Luff) and presented to the Committee. This included assessments of the playing list and its development from 2018 onwards, comparison of our list against the rest of the competition and our recent trading and drafting performance.

2. FINDINGS
2.1 High-level findings
The Review found that we did not have the platform needed to support a sustainable winning culture and that significant change was needed in the Football Department, and more broadly in the Club, to address concerns with the processes and fundamentals of our Football Program.

2.2 Club context
We have made good progress off-field over the past decade:
+ We are back at RSEA Park in first class facilities, including the Danny Frawley Centre for Health & Wellbeing.
+ Membership and sponsorship are at record levels and we are rapidly repaying our debt.
+ Professionalism has improved and we have strong people across football, non-football and the Board working cohesively towards a common goal. In our Football Program, we had seen encouraging signs of improvement through 2020, an injury-cruelled 2021 season and the first half of the 2022 season.

But our performances post the bye this year made it much harder to make the case that we were making sufficient progress in our football journey.

2.3 Raising the bar
In 2016, we were bottom quartile in the competition in a number of key areas (including facilities, revenue, list and other aspects of our Football Program) and top quartile in nothing. Since then, we have lifted ourselves to second and third quartiles in most key areas. That is not good enough if we are serious about ultimate success. Moving forward, we must strive to be amongst the best, if not the best, in the competition across all key areas.

We have a strong resolve to do this and the recent changes to personnel hopefully demonstrate this commitment.

2.4 Shifting our focus to the long-term fundamentals
The Review found that in some areas the Club was focussing impatiently on short-term outputs, and that was detracting from a more productive focus on getting the fundamentals right. Perhaps understandable for a Club starved of success for so long, however this needs to change.

Moving forward, we are determined to focus much more on building the team, gameplan and culture to contend over time, even if this does make the short-term more difficult for us. To do this, we agreed that we needed to ensure that we had the right personnel in key roles.

2.5 We need to set stronger expectations and have clarity about what we stand for The Review found that we need to be much clearer and stronger about what we stand for as a Club on and off the field, with clearly understood expectations, standards and non-negotiables. We intend to fix this quickly.

2.6 We need a culture that encourages debate and offers vigorous feedback. One of the hallmarks of any successful organisation, sporting or otherwise, is open and honest feedback loops throughout the organisation and strong robust debate leading to sound decision making. If we make the expectations and non-negotiables clear, we must match this with a safe environment in which to speak up, provide feedback and be open to vigorous debate. The Review found significant concerns in these areas and we are resolved to improve this as quickly as possible.

2.7 Improvements to Football Program
The Review found that with the transition of the Head of Football to the CEO’s position, there was a gap in leadership in the Football Program.
Given the size of the challenge in front of the Club to implement the findings of the Review, it was seen as critical to have a single point of accountability and an experienced operator for our
Head of Football.

The Review also identified significant issues in relation to our Coaching Program, which explained in part the inconsistency seen on-field over the past two seasons. These issues were more pronounced in the second half of the season, but certainly not confined to that period.

The Committee debated the style and leadership capacity required to take the Club forward and understanding the broader context was critical to the Committee’s decision. Ultimately, the Review recognised that the Club needed to see significant change in our coaching voice and leadership in order to drive the Football Program forward in the manner required.

The decision of the Board that followed, to part ways with Brett Ratten as Senior Coach, was a heartbreaking one for the Board given his character and commitment to our Club. But, at the end of the day, our duty was clear and we needed to put the interests of the Club ahead of that of the individual.

2.8 List management
A detailed external assessment of our list was commissioned, providing independent validation of our internal assessment. The external review highlighted similar strengths and weaknesses already identified. The age profile is a strong positive, with many of our key players not yet in their prime and none on the wrong side of 30 years of age, but we do need to improve our stock of top-end talent.

The review reinforced the need to continue to invest in the development of our players, in particular the first-to-fourth-year players. The appointment of Damian Carroll this time last year to head up this area is showing benefits.
The Review concluded that the list management strategy outlined five years ago – to drive greater competitiveness initially through trades and then to rely primarily on free agency and draft to move to the next level – is still appropriate in hindsight. However, the Review did identify some deficiencies and a need for an updated strategy and execution plan.

2.9 Relationship between football and the rest of Club.
The Review highlighted that we should continue to sharpen our focus on football, minimise distractions to the Football Program and maximise support. In particular, we have decided not to sell a home game in 2023 and to apply a strong football lens to any cause games we consider undertaking.

2.10 Governance
Every level of our Club must be open to review.
Overall, we have a strong Board, working hard and putting the needs of the Club first.
The Review found that:
+ The Board and President could do more at times to challenge and question the direction of the Football Department, as is the role of the governing body.
+ The Management team could do more at times to ensure a better flow of information and greater openness to debate.
The Review process has been a very positive template for the way forward, with robust discussion that has ended in strong alignment between the Board and Management.

STRATEGY & RECOMMENDATIONS:
At a high level, the strategy arising from the Review includes the following elements:
+ We recognised that we needed more revolutionary change than originally intended, to ensure that we are building towards a culture of sustained success.
+ We need to consistently raise the bar across the entire Club to push into the top quartile of all key areas.
+ The first step is to elevate our Football and Coaching Program with a view to becoming one of the best in competition.
+ This will help ensure we get the most possible out of our current list and also give us a clearer view by the end of next season as to where our list stands.

To achieve this, the Review Committee put forward three substantial recommendations:
1. Identify and recruit an experienced Head of Football.
2. Improve the leadership and capacity of the Coaching group.
3. Make further investment in the leadership and development programs for our players.

The further recommendations of the Review go to improving list management processes and execution, creating a culture of excellence in everything that we do, continuing to enforce and demand higher standards and clearer non-negotiables, improving the quality of information flow across the Club through feedback loops and being more open to challenge and debate.
The implementation of these recommendations will be the responsibility of the new leadership in the Football Department, overseen by the CEO, reporting to the Board. The template of the Review – open, transparent and accountable – sets the standard for our governance going forward.

REPORT CARD
Football Department Changes
We are delighted at the team that we are putting together in line with the findings and strategy from the Review.

Additions to the Club include:
+ Executive General Manager Football - Geoff Walsh;
+ Senior Coach - Ross Lyon;
+ Assistant Coaches - Robert Harvey and Lenny Hayes;
+ Development Coach - Brendon Goddard; and
+ Experienced high-performance expert David Misson.
Along with Corey Enright, Damian Carroll and Jake Batchelor, we now have a very strong Coaching Group and Football Department, who will be pivotal in shaping the future of our Football Program.
While these appointments are an important step forward, we must also commit ourselves, across all levels of the Club, to hard work and hold ourselves to uncompromising standards if we are to see through the vision outlined in this Review.
The opportunity exists for the Club to be sustainably successful on and off the field. With the support of our wonderful members and sponsors, we can become a Club that is respected and feared.

[shanegrambeau]

So for every player, there is 5 staff?

OR

So for every player, there are 5 staff?

Which is correct?


It looks top-heavy. Hope the players are ready for the pressure.

[Yorkeys]

Is this fair - between lines message: coaches were pretty slack, tolerated poor performance and had favourites. Lethlean took his eye off the mice and they played accordingly. Coaches fed board bs. Recruitment of Hanneberry & Hill were shocking decisions and as well as tying up good money and list spots fed into a general level of discontent amongst the playing group. Selling games and focusing on causes was nuts - it's all about the footy not social justice and trying to be a do gooding NGO.
?

[cwrcyn]

The key quotes fro me were:

'...significant issues in relation to our coaching program'

We 'needed a significant change in our coaching voice and leadership'

'In some areas the club was focussing impatiently on short-term outputs, and that was detracting from the focus of getting the fundamentals right'

...'buildng the team, game plan, and culture'

...'clearly understood expectations, standards, and non-negotiables'

'...improving list management processes'

[cwrcyn]

So basically

Crappy game plan

Short term thinking

Weak leadership

Poor standards

Poor list management

[Rubyjo]

Is this fair - between lines message: coaches were pretty slack, tolerated poor performance and had favourites. Lethlean took his eye off the mice and they played accordingly. Coaches fed board bs. Recruitment of Hanneberry & Hill were shocking decisions and as well as tying up good money and list spots fed into a general level of discontent amongst the playing group. Selling games and focusing on causes was nuts - it's all about the footy not social justice and trying to be a do gooding NGO.
?

Spot on.

[Leo.J]

What a load of shite….just fricken corporate dribble.

Sounds like there’s been poor leadership at the club but unfortunately the coach was always going to be the scape.

David Noble and Glenn Luff were involved?…we’re they sacked from the bottom team earlier this year?

[Leo.J]

*doubled up….but still a load of s***

[Sainter_Dad]

Is this fair - between lines message: coaches were pretty slack, tolerated poor performance and had favourites. Lethlean took his eye off the mice and they played accordingly. Coaches fed board bs. Recruitment of Hanneberry & Hill were shocking decisions and as well as tying up good money and list spots fed into a general level of discontent amongst the playing group. Selling games and focusing on causes was nuts - it's all about the footy not social justice and trying to be a do gooding NGO.
?

Firstly - careful - there are members of this community who will take your stand against us supporting such causes as Pride Round as being Homophobic

Secondly - I may as well have written this - LOL - I have been banging on about these issues exactly for a while - particularly the need to be RELEVANT!

[Sebastian Tombs]

Hmmmm "also apply a strong football lens to any cause games we consider. The club is already committed to the annual Pride Game with Sydney and plays in the Blue Ribbon game against Hawthorn"
What does that mean??? More flag waving

[Bruce G McAbee]

Not selling home games, thank God no game in Cairns this year in 88% humidity.
I have no problem with the Pride games, or Maddie's match and the Blue Ribbon Cup.
I mean Richmond and Essendon are happy with the Dream Time game.
Of course it makes a big difference if we're winning those games then they wouldn't be an issue.

[Waltzing St Kilda]

Well, the Pride Game would be better off as the Pride Round, with every team incorporating a rainbow.

The Male Depression Game is a huge downer and should be scrapped.

Gresh gifting the opposition captain with boomerangs and clackers before each game is just getting silly.

[skeptic]

I have to say… I’m really miffed at how frustrated people are with the social theme aspect of football.

If there’s one thing that’s destroying football it’s the over corporatisation of the sport…
Constant commercials and sponsored content through the show
Gambling advertisement
Less free games on tv
Unbalanced fixture that limits exposure
Draft not on tv
Pointless family segments, watered down press conferences etc
Blah blah blah

This stuff doesn’t get the hate it deserves but everyone bangs on about how a social cause is detrimental to the game. As if the one week where we have pride game for 2 hours is forced to the point that it ruins the 5 months of the season or whatever but all that other stuff is cool.

Whether or not I’m passionate about whatever the theme of the week is… none of it bothers me all that much compared to the BS that’s a problem every game

[SaintPav]

That sounds like a sanitised version of the actual Executive Summary.

It reads like a media release using the format of a “review”.

[Sebastian Tombs]

I was talking about the term "though a football lens" exactly what does that mean

[Josh Battle]

I was talking about the term "though a football lens" exactly what does that mean

Perhaps the club don’t want players involved in more meetings and more information sessions or media interviews when they should be focussing on winning games of footy.

I think that the Saints are not saying we shouldn’t be involved in social issues, but perhaps we should not take up any NEW causes.

A lot of players already have a lot on their plate with personal and club involvement with certain charities and also with studies or other personal commitments in their private lives.

[bobmurray]

That's the review out the way.


NEXT....

[Yorkeys]

Most of us have a reasonably mature developed social conscience. Stating the mission of a professional football club is winning games is not a criticism or dismissal of social issues. It means a proportional approach with winning games the priority. To suggest otherwise is a form of verballing, I think. The cause celebre ceremony and homilies do not have to encroach on game day preparation and player concentration. As others have noted, talking the righteous talk then backing up with insipid performance reeks of hypocrisy. Lose lose.

[Josh Battle]

Not selling home games, thank God no game in Cairns this year in 88% humidity.

What next? Are we going to complain about playing games in Brisbane or playing games in Perth?

People have really short memories. Our coaches and players had an issue with going to Tasmania. We watched other teams take the initiative to capture a segment of the market that used to be a stronghold for us and also we missed out on the AFL and Tasmanian government money.

In 2022 the Cairns was just played at the wrong time of the year. They should be played Mid June. I think the AFL also looked after us with the fixture immediately before and after the matches in Cairns with good gaps (rest days in between) in both 2021 and in 2022 when we had to travel to far North Queensland. In 2021 we had the full 7 days prior and 7 days after and in 2022 we had 8 days prior and we had the bye the week after.

In 2021 when we lost to Adelaide it was due to to the weak response of our leaders on field. We were cruising with what looked like an unbeatable lead. We were 5 and a half goals up against Adelaide and Andrew Mackay decided to make a statement and lined up Hunter Clark to break his jaw. Whether the Saints players thought it was a ‘footy contest’ or not it was a brutal act from the opposition and we needed to respond in some way. JB and Brad Hill were close by and they stood still. Before that moment, Adelaide had not scored a goal for the whole first half.

The game in Cairns this year was an issue because we lost, but I think the circumstances again contributed. Port were under the pump after losing the first 5 games in the home and away season 2022 after being prelim finalists the year before. We still had our chances but Port were the more desperate team in the final minutes of the game. Again, it was probably poor on field leadership that cost us…AND not the fact that the game was in Cairns

[Otiman]

Surely this reflects more poorly on Lethlean, the bloke with a recent significant promotion. I've now got very little confidence in him, and somehow was able to escape the criticism of the review.

[cwrcyn]

Well, Lethlean is out of the football department and Walsh is there to make sure Lethlean keeps his nose out of it.

Bassat made a shrewd move there.

Lyon can focus on coaching with Walsh the bouncer standing outside his office.

[Banger9798]

Thank God we're no longer selling home games.
We never won them.
May as well have just sold 4 points.
Plus the depletion from travelling again.