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The challenge is simple, when you recruit mercenaries its a simple comparison to previously salaries, which these types cant keep it quiet.
I remember this article.Salary cap discussions expose an ethical leadership dilemma for clubs
Salary cap discussions expose an ethical leadership dilemma for clubs
General Category
In a previous life I had the honour and pleasure of being the CEO of the Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League (MPNFL). At the time, 2007 -2008, the MPNFL was a combination of three separate football leagues and a netball league.
During my CEO tenure one of the biggest issues continually raised by clubs was the burden of rising player payment costs. Clubs felt, if they wanted to reach the finals, they had to spend significant and increasing amounts of money each year on attracting and retaining players to their club. The burden of raising the funds as normal fell to the volunteers.
It was with much interest that I read the press release issued by AFL Victoria on 22 October 2014 (Access full release here) that announced the “Player Payments Working Party” established by AFL Victoria had suggested a framework which sought to “halt the escalating cost of player payments“. The potential framework included, amongst other things, a state wide salary cap with specific limits for individual leagues.
My initial thought, as an ex league CEO, was of course it will never work because it can’t really be enforced. The online feedback from the various clubs and leagues is pretty much summarised by the following comments by various club presidents which appeared in the Monash Weekly (Access full article here ) the day after the AFL Victoria press release:
“It’s impractical. It won’t work,”
“If clubs want to pay someone they will just direct it through someone else”
“If there are third-party arrangements, such as a hotel, what’s to stop the hotel paying players direct?”
“How are you going to police that?”
“I don’t mind the intent and the principle of it, but realistically, it’s not practical.”
“I think it would be impossible to police”
“You could give clubs guidelines, I guess, on what the rules are going to be, but you’ll always have coterie groups, backhanded deals, that sort of thing going on.”
As I was reading the various articles I found myself agreeing whole heartedly with the various Presidents’ comments. Co-incidentally at the same time I was reading these articles I was preparing a training workshop on ethical leadership and it really forced me to think about the concept of a salary cap from an ethical leadership perspective.
Why wouldn’t a voluntary salary cap work?
The logical argument was that it was impossible to police, and so it is, but why does it need to be policed?
Would community sports clubs consciously cheat? Surely not?
Not knowing any answers I decided to change the format of the Ethical Leadership session and to tackle the issue head on.
The results were startling.
About 65 committee members from about 20 different sports and community organisations attended the session. I opened the session reading from the AFL Victoria release about the possible introduction of a salary cap and then I read the above feedback from various Presidents from the Monash Weekly. Everyone was nodding their heads in agreement. “Impossible to police” was the consensus around the crowd.
I then asked the following questions.
Would you consciously disregard the salary cap?
A few sheepish hands were raised.
What if you knew you would never get caught, would you disregard the cap?
A small number of hands rose slowly, but not many.
What about if you had finalised the team for the year and were just on the salary cap and in walks the club’s “favourite son”, a club legend back from playing at a higher level. Would you renegotiate players’ contracts to fit him in? Say there was no room in the salary cap would you knowingly and consciously breach the cap?
There was deep thought in the room now. What would they do? Some indicated they would breach the cap.
To those who answered that they would knowingly breach the cap I asked why:
“Whatever it takes to win”
“You have to do it to be able to compete”
I said to those who had been honest enough to say they would breach the cap:
So as president you agree to abide by the rules of the competition when entering it but knowingly you would breach its rules. What sort of a leader does that make you? I then asked:
Would you be prepared to stand up in front of your members and openly say we consciously broke the rules?
Would you as President be comfortable to have your conscious cheating, because that is what it is, on the front page of the local newspaper?
Would you be comfortable explaining to your friends and family why you are a cheat?
Is a person willing to cheat and break the rules of the competition the sort of person who should be leading a community club?
If the values and culture of your club is set by the leaders of the club, what sort of culture are you really creating at your club?
And so began one of the most enthralling workshops I have ever been involved in. To AFL Victoria I say congratulations on having the courage to tackle one of the biggest issues in community football. For what it’s worth I think the points system is great because it forces clubs to develop their juniors but it does not, in my experience at the MPNFL, have an impact on player payments. In fact MPNFL clubs told me it actually had the opposite effect, driving up the demands of middle and lower tier players.
If AFL Victoria proceed with the implementation of the salary cap, as I believe they should, it should be accompanied with an ethical leadership training program. Leaders of clubs need to be given not only the information about the rule but the skills they are going to need to tackle the very real issues that will arise when they seek to follow the rules.
If leaders are not given these skills then the path of least resistance will be taken, as it often is with poor leadership, and the player payment arms race will continue again.
Steve Pallas
Managing Director
Sports Community
Hearing they haven’t learnt from their mistakes and still offering big $$ to players over 30+.
Hearing they haven’t learnt from their mistakes and still offering big $$ to players over 30+.
Could take a guess and say Dennis or Stewart maybe finishing up?
Where has Bash gone. Change of coach of he hasn’t posted much. Ummm
Stewart might finish up or at least drop down to a lower country league. He would be great at a small bush club where he could still get paid well and contribute.Hearing they haven’t learnt from their mistakes and still offering big $$ to players over 30+.
Could take a guess and say Dennis or Stewart maybe finishing up?
Where has Bash gone. Change of coach of he hasn’t posted much. Ummm
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Jack ziebell a chance to play at AH if he doesn’t get an afl coaching gig. Father in law the new senior coachStewart might finish up or at least drop down to a lower country league. He would be great at a small bush club where he could still get paid well and contribute.
Maybe injured this year but he looked pretty slow and not the threat he was once was, barely rucked in games I saw. No way Dennis finishes up, he won their B&F and would be one of the leading chances for the comp medal. Arguably BOG in a flogging last Sunday, he is a freak! I was skeptical with his age in Premier but he’s been the one positive out of Overland for ‘23.
Probably easy to keep going when you can earn what the average Joe takes home in a year for kicking a footy around.
EK will go big and try and land some big fish regardless of cost to feed the Prescoach’s ego. Problem is, any local player of decent character isn’t going there for any other reason than cash and that comes through when things get tough. Their depth is questionable at best and the only real fix for that is development which Pat is incapable of.
Deer Park/EK can play off for the Christnuffi Cup and a $1m prizemoney round.1 next year. No points, no Cap. One week only
Rumours that Digby needs to win tomorrow and improve on last seasons finish to keep his job. Harsh on the surface, but they have had a quality list the last few years.
Some at Lebanon Res saying that Allison could win the flag and still be asked to move on. Players not in love with him.
APW with a very brave appointment of a bloke that’s never coached Senior football before, has been there in the past so maybe they know what they wanted and he fits the bill. Hard to see them pushing finals next season but should stay out of relegation battle is they can add a couple more.
Avondale get Byrne back and Gleeson from Coburg Districts as assistant. Talk they are going to be active but coming from a long way back. Have had a lot of VFL aligned players in recent years, surely at some point they go back and play full time.
Douttas very active and speaking to some quality but as is the speeehump most years potential recruits are inpatient around playing finals and contending. If they can get a spine I would think they can improve a bit.
Bewick had to 2 years now and would be finals minimum for the 3rd you would imagine. No depth this season. When full strength they were capable of beating anyone, when a few out they dropped to Douttas. Would be backing in Boris to get them in the 4 next year.
Abers will not be happy missing the finals and played a lot of younger ones this season. They should be well placed to add some match winners and contend again. Marcon wouldn’t survive another season without finals. No Abers team playing on the last day, probably been a while since that happened ?
If West Coburg pull off an upset tomorrow then the other 9 clubs can take relegation of the table. They can’t afford to pay this years group let alone recruit another half dozen to compete in Premier. Dale May to go home ?
He may have decided to leave but I think he was getting told to move on anyway. I was hearing he was sacked by the club, but they release a statement that was beneficial to both parties.
Absolutely, what a brilliant effort winning a B-grade flag with the team that were 17 wins and 1 loss last year and bottled the grand final better than my nonna bottles pasta sauce.Congratulations Bongo on winning a premiership as a coach
Maybe EK coach can ring him for some tips
Were u there?? Did u see the game??Congratulations Bongo on winning a premiership as a coach
Maybe EK coach can ring him for some tips
Love itCongratulations Bongo on winning a premiership as a coach
Maybe EK coach can ring him for some tips
snout in the trough not sure I mentioned how he played yesterday, played his role and enabled Maley to kick 6 and be BOGWere u there?? Did u see the game??
May not as well played.. from what I saw had 1 shot on goal and kicked it into the man on the mark… that was it for the day then when the game was done esp in the last 1/4 was antagonising the opposition trying to get them to fight…
The games gone past the bloke.. he’s no good..
Struggled at EK last year… would run faster to the kebab stand than what he did at the ball…
In saying that if we r talking size and pound for pound about bongetti give me Goodwin any day of the week he was fantastic today.. imposed himself, played his role, tackled, chased.. maybe dress him up like a kebab and we actually may see something out of bongo… the bloke u are hailing as great…. Far far from it
Goodwin is well above B grade standard and a star. Bongo did coach the side so I guess it’s more about his coaching as agree he might be past premier footy but didn’t even he admit that himself that he retired when at EK.Were u there?? Did u see the game??
May not as well played.. from what I saw had 1 shot on goal and kicked it into the man on the mark… that was it for the day then when the game was done esp in the last 1/4 was antagonising the opposition trying to get them to fight…
The games gone past the bloke.. he’s no good..
Struggled at EK last year… would run faster to the kebab stand than what he did at the ball…
In saying that if we r talking size and pound for pound about bongetti give me Goodwin any day of the week he was fantastic today.. imposed himself, played his role, tackled, chased.. maybe dress him up like a kebab and we actually may see something out of bongo… the bloke u are hailing as great…. Far far from it
Bongo - Premiership Coach, Premiership Captain, BOG in a Premiership, multiple B&F’s
Don’t forget Pat’s also got 4 ex EK players in team of the year in Div 1 & 2 in 2023
, the gift that keeps giving.
Cmon turbo don’t be a sore loser. Strathmore have been class all game couple of cheap decisions their way and the EDFL always look after Keilor and Strathmore? What about pacco constantly holding jury as he tries to link up in a play, should have got 6+ free kicks
Attention might be better focused on why Pacco were so undisciplined and bringing the umpires into the game. Bad loss today, didn’t give a yelp!
Im not a sore loser and admit Strathmore WAY to good. You do realise Watson is held almost every contest it goes to him. Strathmore a bit to quick and that Cavanagh is a gun. Where’s he from.
Yes agree. No Sikora a huge loss against Vavra & Keogh. Most important player in premier is a ruck.
