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It is no secret to anyone who has followed this blog that I
have been extremely impressed with Raelene Castle. When she was first appointed
as CEO of the Bulldogs earlier in the year, I was so excited that I wrote a
blog post all about it. You can check that out here.
Last night I was lucky enough to attend a Sports Business
Club event which featured an interview between Tracey Holmes and Raelene. I
thought this blog could be an opportunity to repeat some of the great comments
made by this talented woman and make some of my own comments in response.
One of the first questions asked of Raelene was in regard to
the intrigue she had in applying for the position at the Bulldogs. It was clear
from her response that Raelene has a passion for sport. All you need to do is
look at her past. Raelene is a talented and dynamic sports administrator. Prior
to taking over from Todd Greenburg at the Canterbury Bulldogs, Raelene was
chief executive of Netball New Zealand and had held this role since 2007. In a
country like New Zealand, where netball is ascribed just as much importance as
Rugby Union and the All Blacks, this was a tremendously important role. This
saw her help to establish the Trans-Tasman netball tournament and chair the New
Zealand National Sports Organisations' leadership group.
When she was growing up, Raelene says that 'sport was a
religion' and that 'NRL was a religion'. This comes as no surprise considering
that her father captained the New Zealand rugby league team in 1967 and coached
Bulldogs legend Steve Mortimer in his junior career.
Hearing Raelene speak about why she applied for the job was
inspiring because it is clear she is passionate about sport. When she was appointed,
many questioned whether because of her lack of 'NRL experience', she would be
able to be successful in the role. I argue that her strong corporate background
as well as her heavy involvement in many New Zealand sporting organisations
makes her absolutely suitable for the position. When you hear Raelene make
comments like 'I have a passion and belief that sport can make a difference',
you know the Bulldogs have made an informed decision.
When told about her appointment, Des Hasler's response was
'was she the best person for the job? Yes? Then why are you talking to me for?'
If it's good enough for Des, it should certainly be good enough for the rest of
us.
The part of Raelene's interview which I found the most
interesting were her comments in regard to player welfare. Fresh from the news
that Ben Barba will be leaving the Bulldogs mid contract to take a position
with the Brisbane Broncos, Raelene made a comment that 'professional athletes
live in a false world'. This is absolutely true. In an environment where
players are often working towards their eventual goal of playing for a club,
the process starts at a young age through their involvement with trainers and
managers. Throughout their time as sportsmen, these gentlemen are told what to
eat, how to train, when to train and depend on their coach, their trainers and
importantly their managers to make decisions for them. This often means that,
amongst other things, players do not really understand their obligations under
a contract. This is reflected in a number of issues the NRL have had over the
last couple of years with players walking out mid-contract.
Raelene suggested that the NRL needs to start taking
'responsibility for growing our athletes'. This is something I find really
important. In a sporting environment where winning almost always seems to be
the number one priority, to see Raelene wanting to focus on player
responsibility and nurturing our players so they are commercially aware
individuals was refreshing to hear.
Part of the interview also touched on the tension between
winning and making commercial decisions. The Canterbury Bulldogs are a 23
million dollar business. Raelene emphasised that commercial decisions involve
more than just ensuring that the football team is winning on the park. Further,
as a chief executive, her role is not to make decisions about team selection or
tactics. Her role is to ensure that the best people are employed to manage the
football side of things while focusing on the financials and the governance of
her club. It is when this is forgotten that clubs begin to have corporate
governance issues which almost always leads to poor performances on the field.
Often 'rules go out the window when it comes to winning'. I
feel this statement resonates with a lot of supporters at the moment, particularly
when we see the way that many teams are being governed. Raelene talked about
the importance of fans and members and urged clubs to be honest. When something
is not going right, clubs need to be brave and address this up front. Fans need
to be '[taken] on the journey with the club.' Members and fans need to be
recognised and valued for the very important contribution they make to their
clubs. When people are so invested in an entity that they cannot control,
openness and honesty (to the best extent possible) is a refreshing approach to take.
My favourite Raelene Castle-ism from the night was this one
- 'club, team, individual.' This statement informs the way the Canterbury
Bulldogs make decisions and their priorities. The Bulldogs have transformed
over the last couple of seasons and I would now argue can truly be called 'a
family club.' This is partly through their focus on the Club and ensuring that
people who come to play for the Bulldogs fit within the Club ethos. No one
individual is bigger than the team and no one individual is bigger than the
Club.
I felt so privileged to be able to hear Raelene speak tonight.
As a woman who is passionate about sport it is inspiring to see Raelene working
towards making the NRL better. She has plenty of ideas and is already making
positive contributions to our game. I look forward to seeing what she
accomplishes during her time at the Bulldogs.
Love,
@LadiesWhoLeague
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