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Good read in todays Australian, Brian Smith is doing some good stuff off the field. It would be cool to go to one of these lunches.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225889561264
Guest speakers help Roosters
Brent Read From: The Australian July 09, 2010 12:00AM
SOME like to stand, others like to sit. Some hail from sporting backgrounds, others walk the corridors of the country's biggest businesses.
All serve the same purpose -- to give the players at the Sydney Roosters a sense that they belong to something bigger than a rugby league club.
When Brian Smith swapped Newcastle for Bondi Junction, he brought with him a weekly ritual which has helped turn the Roosters from wooden-spooners to finals contenders. Once a week, since the pre-season, the Roosters have held a team lunch and invited a guest speaker.
When they played the Warriors in New Zealand, it was former Roosters captain Hugh McGahan. When they travelled to the Gold Coast, it was ex-Roosters Des O'Reilly and John Brass. Cricketers Simon Katich and Doug Bollinger have shared their thoughts with the squad.
So has board member Mark Bouris, one of the country's most successful businessmen. Among the most popular guests was England footballer Jonathan Woodgate, who was in Australia recently for surgery to treat a long-term groin injury.
"We're trying to incorporate some of our past players on a regular basis to speak to our players -- not from a motivational point of view but to tell them what it used to be like, how footy was, why they love the club, what effect it had on their life at the time, what difference it makes to their life these days," Smith said.
"We brought in James Dack -- one of the leading auctioneers in Australia and a Roosters fan, as well as people who have excelled at what they do, preferably if they have something to do with the Roosters.
"It's about making them realise they have to get in the moment and do the job that is there, but also realise where they sit in the big spectrum of life, especially a footy club with 100-year plus history.
"It's good for us all to recognise we belong to something way bigger than where we are at the moment."
It's had a telling effect. The Roosters, after a season of misery, head into tonight's match with arch-rivals South Sydney at the Sydney Football Stadium in eighth spot.
A victory -- they beat the Rabbitohs convincingly in round one -- would enhance their finals bid.
Before their meeting in round one, former Roosters coach Phil Gould was given the honour of addressing the team. This week, the lunch was held without a guest -- playing the Rabbitohs is enough motivation.
"One of the other guys we had was Jonathan Woodgate," Smith said.
"He didn't actually want to talk, he wanted to sit with them and chat. We started doing it in Newcastle and the ones the guys loved best up there were the blokes who dug the well.
"One of the other things we try to get out of it is it make the boys sit down at the table . . . it makes us all take a bit of time out, recognising we sit in the big picture.
"We belong to something bigger, but also sit around and talk to each other."
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225889561264
Guest speakers help Roosters
Brent Read From: The Australian July 09, 2010 12:00AM
SOME like to stand, others like to sit. Some hail from sporting backgrounds, others walk the corridors of the country's biggest businesses.
All serve the same purpose -- to give the players at the Sydney Roosters a sense that they belong to something bigger than a rugby league club.
When Brian Smith swapped Newcastle for Bondi Junction, he brought with him a weekly ritual which has helped turn the Roosters from wooden-spooners to finals contenders. Once a week, since the pre-season, the Roosters have held a team lunch and invited a guest speaker.
When they played the Warriors in New Zealand, it was former Roosters captain Hugh McGahan. When they travelled to the Gold Coast, it was ex-Roosters Des O'Reilly and John Brass. Cricketers Simon Katich and Doug Bollinger have shared their thoughts with the squad.
So has board member Mark Bouris, one of the country's most successful businessmen. Among the most popular guests was England footballer Jonathan Woodgate, who was in Australia recently for surgery to treat a long-term groin injury.
"We're trying to incorporate some of our past players on a regular basis to speak to our players -- not from a motivational point of view but to tell them what it used to be like, how footy was, why they love the club, what effect it had on their life at the time, what difference it makes to their life these days," Smith said.
"We brought in James Dack -- one of the leading auctioneers in Australia and a Roosters fan, as well as people who have excelled at what they do, preferably if they have something to do with the Roosters.
"It's about making them realise they have to get in the moment and do the job that is there, but also realise where they sit in the big spectrum of life, especially a footy club with 100-year plus history.
"It's good for us all to recognise we belong to something way bigger than where we are at the moment."
It's had a telling effect. The Roosters, after a season of misery, head into tonight's match with arch-rivals South Sydney at the Sydney Football Stadium in eighth spot.
A victory -- they beat the Rabbitohs convincingly in round one -- would enhance their finals bid.
Before their meeting in round one, former Roosters coach Phil Gould was given the honour of addressing the team. This week, the lunch was held without a guest -- playing the Rabbitohs is enough motivation.
"One of the other guys we had was Jonathan Woodgate," Smith said.
"He didn't actually want to talk, he wanted to sit with them and chat. We started doing it in Newcastle and the ones the guys loved best up there were the blokes who dug the well.
"One of the other things we try to get out of it is it make the boys sit down at the table . . . it makes us all take a bit of time out, recognising we sit in the big picture.
"We belong to something bigger, but also sit around and talk to each other."