2005 RugbyWA Annual Report

RugbyWA 2005 AnnuAl RepoRt l 3

Office Bearers

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN RUGBY UNION (INC)

Founded 1893. Re-formed 1928.

Patron in Chief

His excellency lieutenant General J Sanderson AC

Governor of Western Australia

Patron

Dr D Haultain

Vice Patrons

the Honourable Justice D K Malcolm AC

Chief Justice of Western Australia

the Honourable R C Kucera ApM MlA

the Right Honourable Dr p nattrass

lord Mayor of perth

Life Members

p Bailey, Mrs V Bleakley, t J Bradbury, Dr D Butcher,

p Davies-Moore, Rev R Davis, M Day, B French, e Hall,

Dr B Hartley, M Harvey, Dr D Haultain, A Hill, M Hunt,

Dr A Johnson, J McCullough, G Mickle, B olney, Dr R perry,

D Redpath, M Siddons, G M Stooke oAM, J Suckling,

t Wilkinson, B Reinecke, A Harvey

President

A Harvey

Chairman

G M Stooke oAM

Board Members

G M Stooke oAM (Chairman), t J Bradbury, S Fink,

A Harvey, D Redpath

A Hill (ret. May 05), B French (ret. May 05), R Watsford

(ret. May 05), G Sampson (ret. May 05), R Henning (ret.

May 05)

R perry (appt. Jul 05), R Viol (appt. Jul 05)

V Reid (appt. oct 05), B Stewart (appt. oct 05)

B Cannon (appt. oct 05), J Welborn (alternate for B

Cannon)

Secretary

D Round

Judiciary Board

R todman (Chairman), M Cashman (Deputy Chairman),

R Brain, G Sampson, R Roberts, J Hancock, M Hunt

Australian Rugby Union Delegate

G M Stooke oAM

Western Australian Sports Federation Delegate

B French

Auditor

ernst & Young

4 l RugbyWA 2005 AnnuAl RepoRt RugbyWA 2005 AnnuAl RepoRt l 5

Contents

3 office Bearers

5 president

7 Chairman

11 Chief executive officer

13 Marketing, Media & Sponsorship

16 Head Coach

19 Academy Coach

20 Argonaut Gold

25 Coaching

29 Community Rugby

32 Rugby Development Report

35 Referee Manager

39 Judiciary Report

41 Affiliated – WAJRu

43 Affiliated – WARuRA

45 Affiliated – WACRu

47 Affiliated – WAWRu

48 Affiliated – WASRu

50 Awards

51 Grade tables

54 Chief Finance officer

55 Financial Report

73 Sponsor Acknowledgements

President

the RugbyWA year started

with feverish activity as

we prepared a submission

for selection as the new

Australian Rugby Super 14

team. the expectation and

excitement boiled over on

the 10 December when the

rugby throng came together

at Rugby park to hear “the

location of the new Super

14 Rugby team will be – perth, Western Australia”.

In the company of WA Sports Minister Bob Kucera, Rugby

Mums Irma Cooper and Jennifer Hoskins, players and

even Brownlow Medallist and champion eagle Chris Judd,

RugbyWA officials celebrated the remarkable day well into

the night.

the steady flow of congratulations was just reward for so

many people who had worked so hard, whilst the perth

public rejoiced in what had been an amazing display of

people power.

Immediately plans were in place to find on and off

field leaders, and by the end of February 2006 we had

appointed as Chief executive, peter o’Meara, and John

Mitchell as the inaugural Coach of the ‘team’. With these

appointments in place the enormity of the task ahead

became very evident.

We new that we would get only one chance to do things

right, so with professional aplomb recruitment started

both on and off the field.

By the end of July 2005 our staff level had reached some

30 plus, membership of the new team was in excess

of 13,000, and at a Burswood lunch for some 800

supporters, media and sponsors it was announced that

eMIRAteS would be the naming rights sponsor for the

WeSteRn FoRCe. John Mitchell also named 32 players

who had committed to the team and indicated that they

would be proud to wear the ocean Blue jersey in our first

year

An amazing effort which had been whole heartedly

endorsed by a sporting public – the ‘Force’ was a sporting

icon in Western Australia.

With so much happening at the professional level it was

impossible for the Community Rugby clubs to ignore the

opportunity created by the enthusiasm and consequently

worked hard to reap the harvest. We immediately had

increased playing numbers across all levels with a very

large influx in juniors and schools.

For the first time since 1993, when the development

committee started in earnest to set about developing

the game, coaches and administrators were able to offer

an 8 year old the total pathway to a Wallaby jersey. thank

you to the considerable number of volunteers, players,

coaches and sponsors who contribute so much to club

life and to make our game what it is.

the Argonaut perth Gold continued to prove that Western

Australia is the strongest rugby state outside of the big

two by winning the telstra Australian Rugby Shield. our

thanks and congratulations the management team Wayne

McCulloch (Manager) Des thornton (Coach) who again

brought great credit to themselves, their team and the

state. Captained by Scott Batters the amateur players

that made up this team should be congratulated for their

tireless efforts to achieve this much coveted crown.

In the local competition Wests Subiaco, who had waited

26 years to win a premier Grade premiership, made it

three in row. this year proved to be the toughest and

closest contest in many years with several clubs being in

the position to win. Finals weekend was a wonderful

display of the talent available in this state, starting

with finals in all junior grades on Saturday morning and

concluding with the major final on Sunday afternoon.

Special thanks to our loyal and long term Competition

Sponsors Home Building Society who, along with Swan

Brewery, Department of Sport and Recreation, esplanade

Hotel and Healthway, make a very significant contribution

to our sport. You are urged to support where possible

these sponsors and others mentioned elsewhere in this

report.

to our staff, under the astute guidance of RugbyWA Chief

executive peter o’Meara, a very special thank you for your

exceptional work ethic and total loyalty in what has been

a year of many challenges and extremely hard work.

thank you to all players, coaches, referees, administrators

and volunteers at all levels for their enthusiasm, hard

work and devotion to the game

We extend our appreciation to the Australian Rugby union,

Chairman and Board of Directors, Chief executive Gary

Flowers and employees for their continued financial and

managerial support and also in other areas of the game

in particular development and in bringing International

rugby to perth.


We have closed previous seasons with so many

expectations – the World Cup, W and associated perth

games, the growth in numbers resultant on the world cup

and the promise of Super 14 in perth.

We left no stone unturned in our quest to have a Super

14 team based in perth to ensure future rugby growth in

Australia. As we close 2005 I can say that we will leave

no stone unturned in ensuing that rugby in this state,

whether it be under 8s or the emirates Western Force, will

Chairman

the 2005 season has been

the most eventful year

in the history of rugby in

Western Australia.

After announcing in

December 2004 that perth

was the location of the

fourth Australian Super 14

team, 2005 saw the total

‘landscape’ of rugby in the

state change.

Highlights of the year included:

• the appointment of a Chief executive officer, peter

o’Meara, and a Head Coach, John Mitchell. Also

the increase in the number of permanent RugbyWA

staff from seven to more than 50 which included new

appointments to most of the senior management

positions.

• the naming of the Super 14 team as the Western

Force and the announcement of emirates as the major

sponsor.

• the release of the playing and training colours for the

emirates Western Force Super 14 team.

• Recruitment of 33 contracted players and seven adult

apprentices. this included the recruitment of the

new emirates Western Force captain nathan Sharpe

and fellow Wallabies Brendan Cannon, Scott Fava,

Matt Henjak David Fitter, lachlan Mackay and veteran

home grown Wallaby John Welborn.

• the securing of over 20,000 members for the

emirates Western Force and the sale of all hospitality

suites and boxes at Subiaco oval for season 2006.

• the securing of over $4 million in corporate

sponsorship for RugbyWA for 2006.

• the Argonaut Gold winning the 2005 Australian Rugby

Shield Competition.

• Strong growth in community rugby participation levels

and in particular a 30% growth in the number of junior

players.

• the establishment of the RugbyWA Rugby Academy.

• RugbyWA continues to be in a very sound financial

position.

In 2005 significant changes were made to the RugbyWA

Constitution. these included the establishment of a

ten person Board. this Board consists of five members

elected by the RugbyWA Council, four appointed by the

five elected members and one nominated by professional

players.

the significant changes in RugbyWA have necessitated

the development of a new strategic plan for the

organisation. the process for the development of this

plan was commenced in the middle of the year and will

be submitted to the Council for approval in early 2006.

there has been wide consultation with all stakeholders

and a number of workshops and/or information sessions

involving the Board, Management, Clubs and Affiliate

Bodies. the plan will provide a basis for the integration

and ongoing operations and development of professional

and community rugby in Western Australia. It also defines

the roles and functions of the service departments

to support those two areas. Barrington Consulting is

assisting RugbyWA with this process.

Following an extensive recruitment campaign in the

first part of the year the emirates Western Force squad

commenced full time training in october 2005, with the

touring Wallaby players joining the squad in December

2005. All players have relocated to perth and are now

identified amongst the sporting elite of Western Australia.

the development of the squad has been encouraging

and we look forward to the team being competitive in its

inaugural year.

the perth competition was the most competitive for many

years and congratulations must go to Wests Subiaco who

won their third consecutive premier Grade premiership.

premiership winners were as follows:

Grade Major Premier Minor Premier

premier Wests Subiaco Cottesloe

Reserves Associates Cottesloe

A Grade Rockingham Rockingham

B Grade Associates Green Associates Green

under 19’s Associates Gold Rockingham

Women’s Cottesloe Cottesloe

Congratulations to Matt Aitken from the Cottesloe RuFC

on winning the pG Hampshire Award for the Best and

Fairest player in the perth competition. this is the

second occasion which Matt has won the award. All

award winners are as follows:

have every possible opportunity to perform at the ultimate

level.

thank you for your past support. I eagerly look forward

to seeing you at Subiaco and back at your club for what

promises to be a very special season in 2006

TonyHarveyPresident


Award Winner

PGHampshireAward Matt Aitken – Cottesloe

AgronautGoldBestPlayer Ryan lenegan – university

SueRobertsTrophy

Women’sCompetition Debby Hodgkinson – Cottesloe

Fairest&Best

GeorgeNewstedTrophy

MostOutstandingColt tristan Winnall – Associates

LauriedelaHuntyTrophy

MostImprovedPlayer Michael patching – university

RugbyWACoachAward Des thornton

RugbyWARefereeAward Geoff patching

MostImprovedColtsTeam Rockingham

TopTryScorer Dave Dunstan – Associates

HomeBuildingSocietyClub Associates

Champions

HealthwayChampionClub Associates

Congratulations also to Steve Fink who is to be awarded

life Membership of RugbyWA. Steve is a long term

servant of the game in the state and is currently a

member of the Board. He was president of the Junior

Rugby union for many years and is a past president of the

perth Bayswater RuFC. He has played grade rugby for the

Cottesloe and perth Bayswater clubs.

Between november 2004 and December 2005 the

RugbyWA Board (executive Committee) met on fifteen (15)

occasions. Attendance at these meetings was as follows:

Eligible Attended

Geoff Stooke 15 15

tony Harvey 15 10

terry Bradbury 15 15

David Redpath 15 11

Steve Fink 15 10

Russel perry 6 6

Rob Viol 6 4

Vern Reid 3 3

Brent Stewart 3 2

Brendan Cannon 0 0

John Welborn (Alternate) 3 3

Arthur Hill 7 6

Brian French 7 5

Rick Watsford 7 1

Gary Sampson 7 5

Richard Henning 7 5

During the year the Board established three standing

committees, these are:

• Governance, nomination & Remuneration Committee

• Audit & Compliance Committee

• Community Rugby Advisory Committee

All committees were active during the year and in

particular the Community Rugby Advisory Committee.

this Committee worked closely with the Manager of

Community Rugby in identifying and addressing issues

related to community rugby. they also assisted in

improving communications between clubs, affiliate bodies

and RugbyWA.

In 2005, RugbyWA retained its strong core of community

rugby sponsors. their support is greatly appreciated and

these sponsors include:

• Department of Sport & Recreation

• Home Building Society

• Argonaut ltd

• Healthway, promoting SportSafe

• esplanade Hotel

• Burley Sekem

• lynford

• Gray-nicolls (Gilbert)

In addition, significant sponsorship has been secured

for 2006 and beyond, as part of RugbyWA’s involvement

in Super14. Fortunately, a number of these sponsors

commenced their sponsorship with RugbyWA in 2005.

these include:

• emirates

• ISC

• Firepower

• MBF

• Woodside

• Integrated Group

• lion nathan

• Goundrey Wines

• oceanus

Again, this support is greatly appreciated

Whilst 2005 saw many changes in RugbyWA, 2006 will

be an even more challenging and exciting year. emirates

Western Force will be competing in the tooheys new

Super 14 Competition for the first time and community

rugby will be participating in a restructured perth

competition. this competition will also see contracted

players playing for various clubs from time to time. the

Argonaut Gold will be looking to defend their Australian

Rugby Shield title and on the 24 June 2006 the Wallabies

will be playing Ireland at Subiaco oval.

In conclusion, let me thank all those who have contributed

to making 2005 such a successful year for RugbyWA.

thank you to the Clubs and Affiliate Bodies for their

tireless efforts and support. thank you to the RugbyWA

In2005,RugbyWAretaineditsstrongcoreofcommunityrugbysponsors.Theirsupportisgreatlyappreciated...

Council and the RugbyWA Board for the support and

assistance they have given to enable the necessary

changes and initiatives to be implemented. thank you to

peter o’Meara and his management team and staff for

the significant personal and collective contributions they

have made throughout the year. last but not least, thank

you to the players and team management of the Western

Force, whose efforts have enabled rugby in WA to now

compete on the international stage

Kind regards

GeoffreyStookeOAMChairman


Chief Executive Officer

What a year 2005 was for

RugbyWA! the organisation

has achieved well above

expectation in all aspects,

and we have set new off

field standards for clubs

within Australia.

the West Australian public

has embraced the emirates

Western Force in an already

brimming sporting scene in

this state, and I would like to thank them for this terrific

support. the bid for the new tooheys new Super 14

team, won in December 2004, was lead by the public

thirst to see top level rugby in WA (with the strong backing

of the State Government). the people of this state have

followed through, with 21,000 signed up members and

almost 40,000 attending our debut match in the tooheys

new Super 14.

RugbyWA

Since my arrival at RugbyWA in March, the organisation

has blossomed from a small but excited group of

dedicated individuals to a finely tuned professional outfit

ready to face the demands of a Super 14 rugby season.

After all the long hours and hard work in preparation,

RugbyWA staff is more excited now than twelve months

ago, which says a great deal about the passion for rugby

and commitment to the cause this group has.

obviously, things have changed a great deal in the past

twelve months. With the support of the RugbyWA Board,

led by Chairman Geoff Stooke and president tony Harvey,

we have created a structure that we believe will provide

the best possible service to rugby in the state. I would

like to thank Geoff, tony and the entirety of the Board

for their help, both to me personally as I commenced my

duties, and to RugbyWA in this phase of massive growth.

I would like to thank my predecessor as Ceo of RugbyWA,

Rick Smith, for his fine contributions to rugby in this

state and being a leading player in the bidding process.

We are pleased to have Rick’s ongoing involvement in

the organisation, now in the role of Manager of Strategic

projects.

there was also plenty of action on the field in 2005,

and early 2006. our representatives in the Australian

Rugby Shield (ARS) competition, Argonaut Gold, were

crowned champions after defeating Queensland Country

in the Final at Rugby park. Congratulations to coach Des

thornton, players and support staff. Des will again lead

the Gold in 2006 as they aim for a third ARS victory in the

last four years.

In the Home Building Society premier Grade competition,

Wests-Subiaco won a third straight premiership under

coach tom Fearn, beating minor premiers Cottesloe in the

Grand Final. tom is now part of the emirates Western

Force staff, joining the four man coaching staff as Skills

coach. tom’s appointment reflects the success he has

had in the perth competition and the quality of local rugby

standards.

WA was also well represented at underage levels, with

our u19s, Schoolboys and u16s showing tremendous

promise. our u19s went undefeated through the

transition tournament in Queensland, while the

Schoolboys drew with Victoria in the final of the national

Division II Championships. the u16s struggled a little at

the national Division I tournament, but worked hard and

will a powerful unit in the future.

Emirates Western ForceIn April 2005, after much consultation, we announced

that the new professional team would be known by the

name ‘Western Force’. the logo that was chosen, the

native Black Swan, has been the symbol of WA for more

than a century. It encapsulates the energy and vibrancy

of the iconic WA forces of the sun and the ocean.

the brand launch was followed by the launch of our home

and alternate jersey, and emirates as our naming rights

sponsor, on 5 July. over 800 people attended the launch

in the Grand Ballroom at Burswood, during which we got

our first look at 13 of the players who came across to

be models in the parade. We also auctioned off our two

original jerseys, for an amazing $30,000 each.

the announcement of emirates as our naming rights

sponsor was a terrific result for us. emirates have a

proven track record of excellence, and I believe that we

share key values that will work well for us in the future.

We also announced Firepower, MBF, ISC, tooheys new,

Woodside, Karma Resorts, Integrated Group and thrifty

as major sponsors, which we are very proud of. I would

like to thank each of these for their support of rugby, and

we look forward to working together with you in the future.

In the initial bid submission, we had forecast 4,400 rugby

fans would become members of the new professional

side. When memberships closed in January 2006, we

had around 21,000 paid up members and 270 companies

partaking in corporate hospitality. this is an astounding

achievement by WA rugby fans, and a great result for

our hard working marketing and membership team.


Marketing, Media & Sponsorship

Marketing

It has been a challenging and exciting year for the

Marketing Services team. the year commenced with the

development of a new brand for the team. under a cloud

of tight security, the ‘Western Force’ and iconic black

swan logo were launched and quickly embraced by the

Western Australian community. A re-branding program

for RugbyWA followed with the creation of guidelines

and implementation process. the branding program

then stretched to the involvement in the ‘look and feel’

of the player’s attire and full merchandise range. the

formulation of the Jersey was next on the agenda. the

project cumulated with the successful launch attended by

the who’s who of the WA business and media community,

during which a staggering $60,000 was raised by the

auction of the two inaugural jerseys.

the crucial financial project for the division was the

creation of membership and corporate hospitality

packages, which has resulted in over $10m in revenue.

the hurdles of the project were numerous, with newly

hired staff seated at tables from the 60’s; intensive

scrutiny from the expectant public; and establishing a

brand new membership system from the united States

on a dial-up internet connection! the launch of the

packages saw over 10,000 members signing up within

three days, with even a Federal Minister lining up in the

Monday morning queue. A core team now services over

21,000 clients (inclusive of both personal and corporate

members). Membership events have been fast and

furious in development and held in quick succession.

Due to the overwhelming support of membership, the

ticketing strategy was carefully planned to attract the

fringe supporters’ and non core rugby supporters in an

AFl heartland.

Marketing activities have been numerous with key

deliverables the advertising program and promotions

calendar. It was vital to differentiate from other sports

creating of point of difference in the market place.

on game day the team is there to oversee and support

potentially 20,000 members with 2,700 corporates dining

in Suites, Boxes, premium Dining and Black Swan Bar

(this particular form of corporate hospitality is new to WA

and becoming the place to be seen).

Finally, what has been achieved is due to the fantastic

marketing services team, who against all odds, have

continually delivered and worked countless hours and

weekends – to them my sincere thanks and admiration.

NicolaDaviesManager,MarketingServices

Congratulations to both – the emirates Western Force is

now the most well supported rugby club in Australia.

one of the duties faced by emirates Western Force Head

Coach John Mitchell and I was to assemble a squad of

players that would fill the criteria of growing the quality and

quantity of elite players in Australian rugby. We recruited

with the plan of giving more opportunities and playing time

to Australian players with great potential around a core of

experienced players with leadership credentials and potential,

and we did not deviate from that. the fact that 21 players

in our 40 man senior squad had no previous experience at

Super 12 level prior to 2006 is testament to that.

these players are in the enviable position of being able

to form the culture of the club as inaugural members.

I believe these players are of the right character and

possess the mental and physical capacities to fulfill this

incredible opportunity.

the coaching staff of the emirates Western Force must be

commended for their terrific work in 2005. By the start of

2006, John Mitchell and his team of assistants turned a

40 man squad into a team with shared focus and vision.

John has worked diligently in mapping a path of preparation

for the teams’ pre-season training schedule right through

until the completion of the Super 14 season. His presence

within the organisation and insistence on one-ness

throughout the staff – both on-field and off-field – has been

important in developing a positive atmosphere.

Looking Forward

now that the emirates Western Force have commenced

playing in the Super 14, RugbyWA will be looking to build

on the momentum of 2005 and consolidate our position

within the WA sporting and business communities. We

are currently finalising our strategic plan for the next

three years, with the aim of improving what are already

high standards of excellence across the organisation.

Irrespective of where we finish on the Super 14 table this

year, we have already achieved an enormous amount.

Finally, I’d like to thank the rugby community of WA,

from our esteemed life members to game day fans and

right through to club volunteers. We are grateful for the

groundswell of support for rugby, and we will look to

continue to nurture the game at all levels.

I’d like to wish a safe and successful 2006 to all, and I

hope to see you at Subiaco, Rugby park or your local club

soon.

PeterO’MearaChiefExecutiveOfficer


Media

our brief has been to maximize awareness and support

for RugbyWA and the emirates Western Force and to

keep management and players informed of relevant

issues. If only it were that simple! It’s been an amazing

year of challenges and change in the area of media and

communications as RugbyWA has gone from essentially

a low-key manager of community rugby to a $20 million

business. each twist and turn has not been without its

issues, typical, I suspect, of any start-up. Joining an

international competition like the tooheys new Super 14

has put us on the rugby radar around the world and led to

countless and constant requests and inquiries from as far

a field as europe and Japan, not to mention new Zealand

and South Africa.

But managing this interest has been just a small part

of our busy schedule over the past year. From next to

nothing, we’ve built a website that now enjoys more hits

than the Fremantle Dockers. We’ve developed policies

and systems and supplied a steady stream of copy for

speeches, press releases and match day programs.

We’ve written a book and managed a television

documentary, run a song competition and helped fill the

electronic ether and print presses with news of our great

game. We’ve struck publishing and radio deals, written

radio scripts and delivered regular electronic newsletters

to our members, corporate supporters and local clubs.

And then there’s game day!

I would like to thank the journalists, players and coaches

for giving the time to spread the good word. Certainly, the

profile rugby now has in WA could not have been achieved

without their involvement. I would also like to thank our

partners, Cambridge Media, Southern Cross Broadcasting

and Getty Images. tim Archer, at the ARu, has also been

a great sounding board and adviser. Finally, I would like

to thank RugbyWA media officer, Crispin Roberts, for his

good humour, good sense and commitment to the cause.

It’s been a busy year of sowing the seed. now for the

fruits of our labour!

TomBaddeleyManager,MediaandCommunications

Sponsorship

the sponsorship unit, as with other units associated

with RugbyWA and the emirates Western Force,

faced a number of specific challenges following the

announcement of successful bid on December 10 2005.

A strategy was developed which involved analysing

an achievable sponsorship budget for RugbyWA, and

developing a range of benefits which would be appropriate

for the sponsorship structure which had been designed.

targeted companies were approached and we were

gratified with their positive response.

the emirates Western Force sponsorship group now

represents a total investment by these organisations

of over $4.6 million in 2006. A number of our major

sponsors are new investors into the Western Australian

sporting landscape.

We are intent on ensuring that our sponsors have the

opportunity to cross market to each other, and to our

corporate hospitality members. We will continue to

structure opportunities for this to occur.

We are working to maximise the impact sponsors will

have on our match day spectators, our membership base,

our corporate members and the general community.

We are grateful for the support our sponsors have

provided to us in our initial year. their enthusiastic and

professional contribution has had a profound impact on

the effectiveness of our organisation.

Wearegratefulforthesupportoursponsorshaveprovidedtousinourinitialyear.

our objective has been in this first year to do the

achievable well, and not to stretch ourselves too thinly.

our challenge is to move into 2007 with more ambitious

goals and higher aspirations.

MikeReesManager,SponsorshipandCommercialOperations


Head Coach

First of all, let me say

what a privilege it is to be

the inaugural Head Coach

of the emirates Western

Force. even though I have

had previous coaching

experiences with Waikato,

england and as coach of

new Zealand at the 2003

Rugby World Cup, I regard

this as the most challenging

appointment of my career. to be handed a blank canvas;

a brand new club, the ability to be heavily influential in

player and professional staff recruitment and to create a

unique culture is a fantastic opportunity.

However, as they say in the classics, with great power

comes great responsibility.

together with RugbyWA Chairman Geoff Stooke and Chief

executive peter o’Meara, the emirates Western Force

have been able to recruit top class coaching staff and

management, as well as a player group that I believe will

uphold the characteristics of this organization – Integrity,

unity, Courage, excellence and energy.

We are fortunate enough to have filled our coaching

stocks with outstanding individuals. the appointments of

coaching coordinator John Mulvihill and set-piece coach,

former Wallaby Ben Darwin, are very pleasing. John is

an astute rugby mind; he is well prepared and provides

a fresh approach, having worked with the Gold Coast

Breakers and the Southport School before heading to

WA. Ben has excellent technical and tactical knowledge

for a man still in his salad days as a coach. Ben has

formerly had playing experience with the Wallabies, and

was coach of northern Suburbs in the nSW premiership

competition.

the player group that the emirates Western Force have

been able to recruit is top class. the group is varied in

age and experience, but single-minded in its approach.

our captain, nathan Sharpe, is a born leader of men and

has impressed with his enthusiasm and willingness to

work hard. this sets a fantastic example for the younger

guys. Scott Fava has an excellent track record on the

field, but his appointment as vice-captain probably reflects

more on him as a person than a player, which is saying

something.

Within the emirates Western Force structure, Academy

coach Steve MacFarland has taken his role in stride and

has made a big improvement in the standards of his

guys in a matter of months. Steve will be working hard

with young men of the academy, along with our Coach

education manager and ntS/Academy coach Brenden

loag, in developing the future of rugby in WA.

We believe that we will be a competitive side with a bright

future, and it is exciting that the WA public has been so

supportive in getting on board and becoming members.

the staff and players will be focused on rewarding this

support with good performances, quality rugby to watch,

and hopefully some wins on the board. We are also well

aware of the quality of our opposition and I acknowledge

that just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither is a rugby

club. We have a three-year plan in place to develop our

team, and we will stick to that regardless of results.

Finally, I’d like to thank RugbyWA Chairman Geoff Stooke

and Board, chief executive peter o’Meara, the entire staff

of this organisation and particularly my coaching staff

and playing group for their support and guidance since my

arrival in this state twelve months ago.

JohnMitchellHeadCoach

Wearefortunateenoughtohavefilledourcoachingstockswithoutstandingindividuals.


Emirates Western Force Academy

the inaugural emirates

Western Force Academy

kicked off its program on

november 1, 2005. After

a selection process of the

players over the domestic

season, 20 players were

eventually selected, with 18

of the players from perth

and 2 coming from interstate. the players selected have

come through the local competitions and representative

teams from the u16s, Schoolboys, u19s and perth Gold.

ex-perth players have also returned from interstate to

continue their studies and rugby in the West.

With the appointment of the coach at the end of october,

the critical objective was to get the program running, in

particular the coaching. once this occurred the Academy

players began training in earnest. the main focus during

the early phase has been on skill development in the

three core skill areas, as well as a vigorous strength and

conditioning program. After an intense opening three

weeks of skills, we now have 3 skills sessions a week.

the skill progression is well underway.

We will continue to work closely with the Super 14 squad

in terms of input as well as a common theme in the core

areas. Individual skills are also built into the program.

During pre-season, two Academy players were invited each

week to train with the senior squad, and once a week

members of the professional coaching team spent a skills

session with the Academy. this has been most beneficial

and gives the coaching staff and players alike the

opportunity to assess their progress at an elite level. the

Academy Coach

seven sessions per week not involving skills are taken up

with strength, speed work and conditioning. Strength and

Conditioning coach Vince Kelly has tested all the players

in conjunction with WAIS and they are now following

specialized training programs in these areas. the players

have also had sessions with nutritionist Glenn Cardwell.

the age of the cohort varies from 17- 23. It is envisaged

down the track, the general age will be younger. In reality

some of the older players in the squad in effect have a

small window in which to attempt to make the step up.

the structures have been put in place for future entry and

exit procedures. this structure will be made available

in due course. players are set goals and are expected

to meet the standards in all areas if they are to remain

and continue in the program. they are tested on a

regular basis and are given feedback as to their progress.

Sessions are filmed and the footage will be used as an

effective coaching tool.

Inaugural Academy Members

SteveMcFarlandHeadAcademyCoach

Dan Bailey

Will Brock

tim Carslaw

Joe egan

James Dougall

lloyd Johnson

Bill Johnstone

Ryan lenegan

Ben lindegaard

Kieran longbottom

Kris Martinick

nathan McCourt

Angus neilson

Scott nimmo

Adam Scari

Matt Shaw

Andrew Smith

Dean tyrrell

Ryan tyrrell

tristan Winnall

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20 l RugbyWA 2005 AnnuAl RepoRt

Match Reports by Rick Boyd

TelstraAustralianRugbyShieldFinal–ArgonautGoldv

QueenslandCountryHeelers

perth’s Argonaut Gold reclaimed the telstra Australian

Rugby Shield today at Rugby park, Floreat, with a second

half comeback that gave it a hard-fought 18-11 win over a

solid Queensland Country Heelers team.

the Heelers gained territorial advantage from the early

kicking duel and flyhalf Ryan Roberts converted position

into points with a drop goal from a handy scrum after 4

minutes.

the Heelers continued to dominate territory and appeared

to blow a certain try after 8 minutes, lock luke Classie

cutting back in with a three man overlap. But a quick ruck

spun the ball blind and Roberts scampered over in the

corner to give the Heelers an 8-0 half time lead.

Gold opened the second half with promise but errors put

the Heelers back on attack, Roberts kicking a penalty

after 8 minutes when a Gold flanker unbound early.

Gold worked downfield from the kickoff and flyhalf nathan

McCort cut in close through an ineffective tackle, and

stood up the fullback to score out wide. Wing Ryan

lenegan converted from the sideline to make it 11-7.

Argonaut Gold

Argonaut Gold enjoyed yet another terrific Australian

Shield result in 2005, winning the competition for the

second time in three years. Coach Des thornton,

assistants Andy Cole and Steve McFarland, and Manager

Wayne McCullough are to be commended for their hard

work and tremendous achievement.

the majority of the squad was made up of youngsters

from the premier Grade, although warhorse trefor thomas

was again in the thick of the action. the squad, captained

by halfback Scott Batters, battled injuries at times but still

went through the season undefeated – testament to the

attitude the guys brought to gameday. this commitment

and courage was exemplified in the final, when the guys

fought back from a half-time deficit to claim the shield.

2005 Argonaut Gold Squad:

peter Adams, Daniel Bailey, Scott Batters, tim Davies,

Kyle edwards, tyler edwards, leon Felton,

Dwayne Grace, Ross James, Ryan lenegan, Sililo Sagote,

Kieran longbotlom, nathan McCort, Greig McKenzie,

Rerekura (John) Menehira, Blair Morris, Bryce Mowill,

Ashley Murphy, tim newton, Christopher Rovira,

Mike Rowe, Matt Shaw, trefor thomas,

Brendan thomson, Ross trend, Ryan tyrell,

Justin Webster, James Weir, Damian Wilson

MitchHardyManager,CommunityRugby


Gold restarted play full of fire and hammered the Heelers’

line, winning a penalty for offside after 13 minutes. lenegan

converted from in front, and the Gold closed to 11-10.

Gold were unlucky not to score from a ruck with an

overlap waiting, but the Heelers knocked the ball down

and conceded the penalty. lenegan kicked the sitter and

Gold was straight back on attack with lenegan kicking

and regathering down the sideline. the ball swept the

width of the field and fullback Dwayne Grace cut through

to score out wide and give Gold the lead 18-11.

Argonaut Gold reclaimed the title of the best amateur

team in Australia in a fitting reinforcement of the ARu’s

decision to award Western Australia the nation’s fourth

Super 14 side, the emirates Western Force.

ArgonautGoldvMelbourneAxemen

perth’s Argonaut Gold did it tough in a hard, physical

game against a big Melbourne Axemen team, winning 17-

5 in the telstra Australian Rugby Shield game in Victoria

tonight.

the hard-fought win stands favourites Gold in good stead

for the final to be played at Rugby park, Floreat, on

Saturday June 18.

the score was locked at 0-0 at half time as the Axemen

dominated territory, playing a physical game that shocked

Gold in the early stages. Melbourne took advantage of

the cold night conditions, using their size and weight

to slow down play and take the visitors on one-on-one.

they applied pressure and Gold occasionally lacked

composure.

Standout players were prop Kieran longbottom, who

performed strongly in the scrum and around the ground;

halfback Brendan thomson, who displayed great intensity;

fullback Ryan lenegan, whose positional kicking was

excellent; and wing Justin Webster. Inside centre tim

Davies was again exceptional under pressure.

ArgonautGoldvNewSouthWalesCountryCockatoos

perth’s Argonaut Gold earned a home final in the telstra

Australian Rugby Shield Final with a resounding 27-12 win

over arch-rival the new South Wales Cockatoos in lismore

today.

Gold ripped into the Cockatoos early, scoring four tries in

the first 17 minutes, earning a valuable bonus point.

Gold led 22-0 at half time and scored a further converted

try in the second half. the Cockatoos left its run too late

with two tries and a conversion in the second half but

Gold had the game wrapped up.

lock tyler edwards scored after 3 minutes and flanker

Blair Morris added a second try six minutes in.

Inside centre tim Davies went over for a try after 14

minutes, converted by wing Greig McKenzie and 3

minutes later wing Justin Webster scored the fourth.

Centre Bryce Mowll added the fifth try 17 minutes into

the second spell.

ArgonautGoldvDarwinMozzies

perth’s Argonaut Gold defeated the Darwin Mosquitos 43-

10 at Rugby park, Floreat.

Gold led 17-3 at half time with periods of high quality,

precision rugby. Darwin worked hard to gain territorial

dominance in the second half as the game became

disjointed, but it was not enough to stop Gold scoring four

more tries, often against the run of play.

Argonaut Gold opened the game at bewildering speed,

switching play from one side of the field to the other until

fullback Ryan lenegan sprinted into the corner on an

overlap to score. this was followed soon after by a try to

Justin Webster, and the Gold went ahead 10-0 after 16

minutes.

Darwin was never out of the hunt and created good

opportunities. Fullback Bernard niki sliced through for an

easy touchdown but was called back for a forward pass.

Darwin had to settle for a penalty kick to flyhalf Robbie

Davis after Gold was called offside a minute later.

But Gold had the last word when a penalty lineout sent

the ball out wide and strong fullback Ryan lenegan

bumped off three tacklers for a try. lenegan converted it

himself to take Gold ahead 17-3 going into the break.

Four second half tries to one gave the Argonaut Gold a

seemingly comfortable 43-10 victory, but it was a cruel

reward for the territorians, who had worked tirelessly for

position but failed to penetrate

ArgonautGoldvAdelaideBlackFalcons

perth’s Argonaut Gold won its second consecutive telstra

Australian Rugby Shield game, 38-23 against the Adelaide

Black Falcons.

the young Argonaut Gold team scored two converted tries

in the first half for a slender 14-13 lead at the break, but

poured on the points in the second half for a strong win in

difficult conditions.

the Black Falcons played with a gale behind it in the

first half, using the advantage well to keep Argonaut

Gold pinned in its half, and Gold found it difficult to build

momentum.

But ten minutes after the break Gold broke the shackles

and the points inevitably followed.

tries were scored by flanker Blair Morris (2), centre leon

Felton (2), and blindside flanker Ryan tyrrell. Wing Ryan

lenegan scored one try and kicked three conversions,

and wing Justin Webster kicked one conversion.

the Black Falcons rounded out the game with a

consolation try.

ArgonautGoldvQueenslandCountryHeelers

perth’s young Argonaut Gold team overcame the solid

Queensland Country Heelers to win 2005’s first telstra

Australian Rugby Shield match, 19-12.

Centre leon Felton cut through to score after four minutes

and seven minutes later lock John Menehira was well

placed in the back line to drive over for the second.

late selection as team kicker, hooker Ash Murphy, failed

with the two conversion attempts but made no mistake

with his third attempt, a penalty from a lineout offence, to

take Gold out to 13-0 after 22 minutes.

But the Heelers struck back five minutes later with an

orthodox attack down the left wing. Wing Billy Bainibure

collected the try and flyhalf Corey niwa added the extras

to peg Gold back to a 13-7 lead. Murphy slotted a penalty

for a shoulder charge after ten minutes, and added

another soon after to go ahead 19-7.

Minutes later Gold was penalised for coming in the

side of a ruck, and the Heelers punted into touch past

Gold’s 22. Several phases later the Queensland Country

forwards drove over the line and lock and captain Brad

tronc claimed the try to close the gap to 19-12.


Introduction

the arrival of Super 14 Rugby to Western Australia and

the birth of the emirates Western Force has obviously

swept rugby in the state off its feet. this huge

groundswell has had a direct influence on the levels of

interest and involvement people have taken in rugby

coaching. At the same time, the Australian Rugby union

(ARu) and each of the state unions have worked hard on

revamping the coach education and development system

to provide new opportunities for coaches. these two

factors combined have seen an exciting year unfold in the

coaching fraternity and set the scene for a busy 2006.

Coaching Accreditation and Education

Course/Seminar No. of Participants

Advanced Coaches Seminar x 2 63

level one x 6 133

level two x 2 35

level three x 1 2

Foundation 62

Junior player pathway 73

A total of 368 participants attended one of RugbyWA’s

coach education seminars during the 2005 season. this

is an increase of 96% from last year’s 187. this can be

attributed to an increase in resources, funding and staff

which in turn provided more efficient course promotion

and the provision of more accessible seminars.

During 2005, a further 26 coaches completed the

necessary tasks to gain their level 1 accreditations, while

another 14 met theirs for level 2.

New Coach Development System Overview

the outgoing coach development system was reviewed in

detail by both RugbyWA and the Australian Rugby union.

the results showed that the system was inflexible,

outdated and in some areas lacked quality control.

In response RugbyWA and the ARu developed a new

system that not only provided an educational opportunity

for coaches at all levels, but also aimed to improve the

standards of those who were committed to progressing

through an accreditation pathway. the final result was a

new system that comprises of three components:

• Compulsory qualification – SmartRugby safety

seminars

Coaching

• optional education – Junior player pathway seminars,

Foundation coaching & refereeing, Advanced seminars

• optional membership & accreditation – level 1, 2 & 3

courses

the Foundation coaching and refereeing course has

been added to the Coach Development program for

2006. this one day certificate course is designed to

educate participants at an introductory level to coaching

and refereeing. this course is recognized by the ARu

and RugbyWA as the 1st step in qualification, but not

an official accreditation through the Australian Sports

Commission.

the level 1 accreditation will remain in the Coach

Development program, however attending a coaching

seminar is no longer a requirement to gain a level 1

Accreditation. Attending a Foundation Course may be

beneficial for the coach’s education and knowledge prior

to commencing the level 1 accreditation. the level 1 and

2 accreditations are now assessment based courses

where certain competencies must be sufficiently met to

achieve a pass.

Coaching Success

2005 saw yet another successful year for our coaches

at many various levels. the highlight of the year was the

appointment of local coach tom Fearn to the emirates

Western Force coaching staff as the Skills Coach. tom

has been coaching in Western Australia for many years

with outstanding results including 2 premierships with

nedlands 1st Grade and more recently a hat-trick of

premierships with Wests Subiaco.

Steve McFarland has enjoyed a stand-out year in the

area of coaching. Steve was appointed as the emirates

Western Force Academy Head Coach in november this

year. Steve has enjoyed yet another successful year in

winning an undefeated Australian Shield Championship

with the Argonaut Gold (assistant coach) and also taking

out pSA 1st XV premiership for the third year running with

Hale School.

Des thornton received RugbyWA’s highest coaching

honour by winning the Coach of the Year award. Des

was again the Head Coach of the Argonaut Gold and

successfully guided the team to the title in the highest

competition available for Western Australians. the

second of the assistant coaches Andy Cole must also be

congratulated on his efforts. Andy has been Des’ right


hand man for the last three Australian Shield campaigns

having a big hand in both of perth’s Championships.

Developing coaches Willie Van Dyk and Steve McCullough

also enjoyed success as Head Coaches of representative

teams for the first time. Willie (WA u19s) and Steve

(WA u15 Development XV) guided their teams to

championships at their respective tournaments while also

assisting in the development of future emirates Western

Force players.

Congratulations must also go to WA Country coach Greg

Hunt who has had a huge influence on the resurrection

of this valued representative team’s program. Greg

was faced with the challenge of fashioning a team from

four different WA regions in very limited time. He was

successful in his endeavour with the WA Country team

performing exceptionally well in its inaugural match

against the perth A Grade representative team.

RugbyWA would also like to recognise the performances

of ex-Western Australian coaches Rod Cutler and Wayne

Gibson. Rod took the challenge of coaching Sydney

premier Grade side Manly on in 2005 with great results.

Rod steered the team to the toohey’s new Cup Semi-

Finals. Wayne also stepped up to the premier Grade

ranks for the first time in 2005 when he took the

reins at Brisbane’s Brothers Rugby Club. Wayne was

also successful in taking his team to the semi-finals.

Congratulations to both coaches.

Finally RugbyWA would like to welcome John Mitchell, John

Mulvihill & Ben Darwin to the WA coaching ranks. their

involvement in coach development in 2005 has been

beneficial for many throughout the year. their leadership

will be a huge asset for WA in the future.

BrendenLoagCoachEducationandNTS/Academy


Overview

the 2005 season has been one of excitement; a time

of anticipation and change for all involved in Community

rugby. After receiving notification of the new Super 14

team, RugbyWA has undergone some dramatic changes.

the first of those changes was the moving to the old

Department of Sport and Recreation offices at perry

lakes Athletic Stadium to accommodate the growing

number of staff coming on board within the organisation.

We have continued seeing the ever increasing growth of

the sport at junior, club and school level and the senior

competitions, highlighted by some fine individual and club

performances.

personally I would like to thank all Club Committee

personnel, volunteers, players and our affiliate body

representatives from the WARuRA, WAJRu, WACRu,

WASRu and WAWRu. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first

year with the organisation, and look forward to what

should be an exciting 2006.

Staff

During 2005 RugbyWA and Community Rugby has seen

many personnel changes. I believe the difference

in having these extra resources will only enhance

Community Rugby and assist in delivering the programs

to boost the sport within the state. As part of the

Rugby World Cup legacy funding we received, RugbyWA

employed three Rugby Service Coordinators in Danny

lea, Daniel Cockburn and tim Davies, as well as two

Regional Development officers in Daryn pomare and

Callan Hatchman. other new staff to the organisation

included Glenda Gibbs (Competition Administrator),

Dwayne nestor (Development Manager), omar Haji (junior

Rugby Coordinator), and our Metropolitan Development

officers in pat Hannigan, Aidan Higo, Colin Richardson

and leon Felton. I am sure you will join me in thanking

these staff members for their contribution to date as well

as our other staff members for their continuing good work

(Wendy Hickman, Anthony o’Shea, Helen Sutherland and

Brendan loag). I would also like to take the opportunity

to thank Stuart Dart for his contribution to Community

Rugby and the guidance he has provided me in my role

and making the new staff feel most welcome to the

organisation.

Rugby

thank you for all contributions made to all the

competitions run by RugbyWA in 2005. Congratulations

to the Argonaut perth Gold coaching, players and

Management for their success in the Australian Rugby

Shield. thanks and recognition must also go to our

Community Sponsors who may be recognised elsewhere

within this annual report but to Home Building Society

our Competitions Major Sponsor all of Community Rugby

appreciates your continued support.

our continuing programs with all age group state teams

will play an important role for Rugby within this state, and

we are pleased to see the perth Gold side continuing in

the ARS in 2006. We had success with the under 19

Development side, and this will be a further breeding

ground for future emirates Western Force players, along

with our state under 16 and Schoolboy sides.

Congratulations to the Associates RuFC for their

successes in the Club Championship, Healthway

Championship, under 19 and B grade competitions.

Also congratulations to the Wests Subiaco RuFC on their

premier Grade success for a third consecutive season.

the Home Building Society competition saw it come down

to five clubs vying for Semi Final positions in 2005, with

university missing out despite a big competition ladder

lead at the halfway stage of the competition. Cottesloe

came through the pack to take the Minor premiership .

With the introduction of the emirates Western Force

Academy and Super 14 professional players our

competition will hopefully raise in standard and number of

competing teams in years to come.

Community Rugby

WestsSubiacoCaptainGregPlimmeracceptsthePremierGradeCupfromHomeBuildingSocietyChairmanTonyHowarth.


Going Forward in 2006

During 2005 the RugbyWA Board formed a Community

Rugby Advisory Committee comprising of Directors,

tony Harvey, David Redpath, Steve Fink and Vern Reid

and the Manager for Community Rugby. this role of the

committee has been to provide strategic direction to

Community Rugby to cater for the wants and needs of

Community Rugby. Meetings were held with all Clubs

and Affiliate Bodies about such things as competition

matters, match officials, development programs, volunteer

management, coach education and financial support.

this Committee will remain in 2006 and continue its work

with the key stakeholders of RugbyWA Community Rugby.

early in 2006, the senior and junior competitions will go

through some changes which have been formed by the

Advisory Committee and the relevant affiliate bodies. Along

with the programs that have been successful to date, such

as volunteer management and development programs, the

work the Rugby Service Coordinators are carrying out the

clubs can be assured to receive the necessary support and

resources needed to carry out their duties.

the Volunteer Management program has been one of the

RugbyWA success stories, and I am sure the clubs will

Goundry

join me in thanking Helen Sutherland for the work she

has done in this area. through the VMp, Helen, along with

the Volunteer Coordinators from the clubs, has provided

much needed workshops, resources, job descriptions

and guidance on matters such as grants, recruiting and

retaining Volunteers. RugbyWA is looking at ways to make

this program one of the leading volunteer programs for

Rugby in the country.

A number of development initiatives were commenced in

2005 by Dwayne nestor and his team of Development

officers, and these staff members are currently putting

together a comprehensive development program for

2006. I urge all clubs to use these staff members to

assist with their plans for their junior and senior players.

opportunities will also be created for Coaches and

officials with such quality personnel as John Mitchell and

his staff now on board and Brendan loag and Anthony

o’Shea will be working on ways to improve the quality of

match officials and coaches within the state.

MitchHardyManager,CommunityRugby


RugbyWA’s Community Rugby received a huge boost

in March of 2005 with the employment of Aidan Higo,

Colin Richardson and patrick Hannigan as full time

SportSafe Development officers, and leon Felton as

a part time SportSafe Development officer within the

perth metropolitan area. Along with these appointments,

I came on board as the SportSafe Development

Coordinator, employed to manage the implementation of

the development program at the grass roots level.

In June and July RugbyWA added to the development

staff, with Daryn pomare and Callan Hatchman

appointed Regional Development officer and South West

Development officer respectively. the Regional areas

include eastern Goldfields, Great Southern, and Geraldton.

the South West covers Bunbury, Busselton, Dunsborough,

Margaret River and to some extent Mandurah.

the new Development officers had a steep learning curve

in terms of knowing the game technically and working

with schools and the junior clubs. their improvement was

outstanding, and after seven months the positive feedback,

from the schools especially, has been glowing in terms of

their professionalism, organisation and quality of programs.

Schools

In 2005 RugbyWA hosted the following number of teams

in the Combined Schools and Colleges competition:

Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Open Total

# of teAMS 10 19 17 18 64

this accounted for approximately 1,300 players.

the Development officers were active in assisting the

CSC schools with training sessions and technical advice.

to assist with recruitment of new schools and

development opportunities for existing schools RugbyWA

will host a pre-season CSC tournament in April 2006 for

the Year 10’s and open’s and another for the Year 8’s

and Year 9’s in early July 2006.

Sampling programs were run in:

• perth – 18 primary schools and six high schools

• Kalgoorlie – 10 primary schools and four high schools

• Albany – six primary schools and three high schools

• Geraldton – 10 primary schools and two high schools

• South West – 12 primary schools and seven high

schools

the sampling programs give new participants to the sport

of rugby the opportunity to learn the basic elements of

the game.

the perth Development officer’s introduced over 2,000

students to the game. At the conclusion of 12 out of the

18 sampling programs in perth, the students participated

in games of Walla Rugby. In the Regional areas and

South West the Development officer’s introduced over

3,000 students to the game of rugby.

Rugby Development Report

As part of the sampling programs, active links were set

up between local clubs and the schools where relevant.

As a result of the sampling programs, the primary Rugby

program was developed and launched in term 4, 2005.

It was trialed in the Central north West region of perth

with four schools participating at the Year 4 and 5 levels.

the culmination of the program was a Gala Day with 12

teams participating, totaling 120 students. Six emirates

Western Force players attended the day joining in the

games.

the primary Rugby program is scheduled to cover 10

regions of perth in 2006 allowing over 300 schools the

opportunity to participate.

In the South West, Bunbury hosted a primary Gala Day

in november with in excess of 170 students from five

primary schools playing Walla Rugby. this Gala Day

coincided with an emirates Western Force player visit to

the area and several of the Force players joined in the

games.

the pSA Schools competition was once again won by

Hale School. the Development officers were active in

assisting the pSA schools with holiday clinics and specific

technical sessions during the season. Coaching support

from the Development officers was also focused at the

Year 4 and 5 levels in preparation for a Walla tournament

between Hale, trinity and Wesley totaling 12 teams.

the Development officers assisted with the ACC Year 8

and 9 lightning Carnivals in May 2005.

total school participants in regular rugby (5 or more

games) was 2,240 and irregular rugby (less than 5

games) 1,220.

Development Clinics

the u14 and u15 Development Clinics in 2005 were

successful with the participants gaining valuable skill

development. the u14 clinic had 48 participants and

was held in the June school holidays, and the u15 clinic

had 113 participants and was held during the easter

holidays.

the u15 clinic proceeded through a selection process

for the WAJRu u15 Development team that toured to

the Gold Coast for the Canterbury Rugby tournament.

this was a very successful tour with the team returning

with the u15 trophy, the Spirit of Rugby trophy and the

Canterbury trophy voted on by the referee’s.

the 2005 clinics have enabled the new Development

staff the opportunity to formulate a plan for State

Championships for both u14 and u15 levels in 2006.

In conjunction with the WAJRu, we plan on building the

prestige of these respective championships, which will

compliment the rugby pathway in to the Academy and

emirates Western Force.

TryRugby Programs

tryRugby is a community based program involving children

from 6 to 16 years of age. It aims to introduce the game

of rugby to the participants in a fun, safe and family-

orientated environment.

there were four tryRugby programs hosted in the

following areas in 2005:

• Southern lions (40 participants)

• Bunbury (67 participants)

• Kalgoorlie (37 participants)

• West Subiaco (87 participants)

For Kalgoorlie and Bunbury it was the first instance of any

rugby program like this in the region, and from feedback

from participants it won’t be the last. We are planning

follow up programs in 2006 with the aim to set up a

sustainable junior structure.

Junior Development

During 2005 the Development officer’s ran four Junior

player pathway courses for Junior Clubs with 74

participants. the Junior player pathway includes Walla

(u6 – u8), Mini (u9 – u10) and Midi (u11 – u12) rugby.

the course is an introduction to these games for coaches

and referees, who are usually mums and dads new to

coaching and or refereeing rugby.

We piloted two other junior development programs in

2005 in the Walla Development program and Junior

Workshops. the Walla Development program aims at

providing Walla rugby participants, including coaches and

parents, additional learning opportunities in the basic

elements of catch and pass, evasion and pursuit, Walla

scrum and lineout.


the Junior Workshops are aimed at higher age groups

and in 2006 will focus on more specific areas of tackle,

winning the contact, ruck and maul, scrum, lineout and

warm ups.

these programs will be further developed in 2006 and

offered at all junior venues.

Community Clinics

the Development officer’s provided coaching support for

several community based organizations and general sport

clinics:

• YpAAC After School Clinics

• YMCA Clinics

• DSR – School of the Air Clinic

• uWA Sport Sports For Kids program

• Special needs School Clinic

• AASC program

• Challenge Kids Sports Club

EdRugby

RugbyWA Development officers used the ARu’s national

education program as a tool to increase the exposure

of rugby throughout the school system. It has been

especially valuable in the regional areas of Kalgoorlie,

Albany and Geraldton.

54 schools signed up with edRugby in 2005 with eleven

of these taking up the Walla Challenge in 2005, and 10

already booked for 2006. the Walla Challenge allows the

students of the school to run their own Walla tournament

using all the concepts of edRugby, both in the classroom

and on the field. the schools that participate in the Walla

Challenge receive a starter kit including lesson plans,

balls, cones, whistles and a kit bag.

DwayneNestorRugbyDevelopmentManager

the 2005 season saw many highlights for the officials

of West Australia in the continued development of rugby

in our State. these highlights can be summarised as

follows:

Firstly, the introduction of the West Australian Referees’

Squad Development program, which attempted to put in

place a robust and sustainable training program for our

top 15 referees, an activity-based framework to assist in

improving their ongoing performances. the program’s

design concentrated on three distinct areas, namely the

individual referee’s identification of specific goals for

the season, the ability to learn and understand match

analysis techniques and the self-analysis of individual

performances. the program then required the referee,

in close association with the referee coach, to develop

improvement techniques to adopt in future matches.

the program was ambitious as a first attempt, and not all

of the performance indicators were achieved. However,

overall it was a successful initiative, and, with some fine

tuning already planned, it is envisaged that more of our

referees can benefit in 2006.

Secondly, a record number of five West Australian

officials were appointed to officiate at the various ARu

national Championships. this significant achievement

was testament to the deserved higher profile of West

Australian officials within Australia and to the ARu’s

desire to actively support and promote our officials in light

of Super 14 coming to perth. plans and programs have

already been put in place to repeat this performance, or

better it, for 2006.

thirdly, the unprecedented increase in those wishing to

take up the whistle was witnessed in 2005. no less than

15 brand new recruits from the West Australian rugby

community took up the challenge to referee in 2005,

and of these, 12 were granted their full accreditation. In

addition to these, a further seven teenagers embarked

on their refereeing career by way of following the Junior

pathway (Referee), and they have all been awarded their

competency certificate. the splitting of these two paths

in 2005 has been a very successful move since it has

allowed the hard working referee coaches at Britannia to

focus their coaching techniques in a more concentrated

fashion. these successful pathway referees operate at

the Midi (under 11s and 12s) rugby fixtures at Britannia,

and it is hoped that they will all progress through the

refereeing stages in the future.

the year started with the pre-Season Referees’ Seminar

on 26 February 2005, with over 60 referees and referee

coaches attending. this involved the re-accreditation

process for 2005, the delivery of the ARu 2005

Game Management Document and the revised law

interpretations, and the requirement for all referees to

undergo an education program on SmartRugby, (which,

from 2006, becomes a mandatory requirement as

stipulated by the ARu). At this time 90% of WA officials

currently qualified in SmartRugby.

We were also very fortunate to host english referee tony

Spreadbury at our special pre-test Referees’ meeting in

August prior to the tri-nations test Match. tony provided

a very humorous and insightful talk on his long and

illustrious career as a top referee; the talk provoked a

lively response from the large group of WA officials. Also

present at this special meeting were Alain Rolland, the

test Match referee from Ireland, Dave pearson from

england, Malcolm Changleng from Scotland and Michel

lamoullie from France, the iRB Referee Assessor.

Courses & Training Activities

As well as conducting a full schedule of referee related

courses outlined in table 1, 2005 saw the development

and initial execution of a series of workshops directed

towards the ongoing training and upskilling of referee

coach activities. these workshops were attended by

both referee coaches and senior referees and focussed

on aspects of the ARu national Referee Coaching plan,

including the concept and implementation of referee

self-analysis, the importance of referee communication

and positional analysis. these areas of development

and training are designed to enable the referee coaches

to make a broader analysis of referee performance, in

order to put in place a more proactive individual coaching

plan for the referees. two such workshops were held in

2005 and attended by a total of fifteen participants. It

is planned to continue these arrangements for 2006 and

beyond.

2005 also saw the further development of strategies to

enhance the skills and education for our junior referees.

these took the form of separate ‘hands on’ training

sessions as well as formal education meetings for those

officiating at the all-important junior grades. these

sessions were organised and facilitated by members

of the Referees’ executive and Junior Coaching and

Appointments Board and grateful thanks must be given to

those responsible in contributing to the upskilling of our

junior referees.

Referee Manager


In addition, a full program of 12 referee education

meetings was conducted during the season.

Table 1: Course Data for 2005

Course Date Location Attendees

Foundation Course 12 Mar Kalgoorlie 19

level 1 Referee 20 Mar Rugby park 13

level 1 touch Judge 23 Mar Rugby park 7

Junior pathway (Referees) 4 Apr Rugby park 5

Assessor training Course 12-13 Apr Rugby park 10

level 2 Referee Coach 1 May Rugby park 4

Foundation Course 6 May Aranmore

Catholic College 20

level 1 touch Judge 25 May Rugby park 6

Junior pathway (Referee) 20 Jun Rugby park 4

Foundation Course 3 Jul Bunbury 22

level 1 Referee 10 Jul Rugby park 5

Foundation Course 23 oct Rugby park 32

level 2 Referee 26 nov Rugby park 5

Total 150

In addition to the above, a specially constructed training

program has been developed to prepare West Australian

officials to fulfil the important role of no. 4 and 5 at the

Super 14 matches in perth in 2006. Since the duties of

the appointed no. 4 for these matches extend to being

the reserve touch Judge, an advanced touch Judge

training program was additionally created. Six WA officials

attended both of these training programs in november

2005.

ARU and Senior Appointments

WA Referees officiated at a number of high profile fixtures

during 2005 and a summary is listed in table 2.

ARU Level III Courses

Anthony o’Shea successfully completed the required

accreditation for the ARu level III Referee program. this

program is conducted over a 12-month period, and runs

in tandem with the level III ARu player Coach program.

Ian Hailes was selected to attend the 2005-06 Referee

Coach program in Canberra in october.

Country

RugbyWA referees provided a higher profile in Country

WA in 2005, with many of the South-West Competition

matches refereed by perth based officials, a referee

update course conducted in Kalgoorlie in March and the

Table 2: Senior Appointments 2005

Date Match Appointment Name

7 May tARS perth v QlD Country Reserve Referee & touch Judge Geoff patching & peter Hilgendorf

21 May tARS Adelaide v Melbourne Referee Geoff patching

21 May tARS perth v Darwin Reserve Referee & touch Judge peter Hilgendorf & Matt o’Brien

4 Jun tARS Darwin v nSW Country Referee Geoff patching

18 Jun tARS Final perth v Queensland Country Reserve Referee & touch Judge Geoff patching & Matt o’Brien

26 Jun – 1 Jul Australian Schoolboy Championships Referee Coach Ian Hailes

Division 2, Geelong.

4 Jul – 8 Jul Australian Schoolboy Championships touch Judge Rohen Skiba

Division 1, Canberra

20 Aug Australia v South Africa no. 5 Referee Geoff patching

timekeeper Maurie Day

officials’ Manager David procopis

26 Sep – 1 oct under 16s Championships, Sydney Referee Geoff patching

touch Judge Matt o’Brien

Referee Manager Anthony o’Shea

17 Sep RugbyWA premier Grade Grand Final Referee Sean popperwell


provision of officials for the annual country Carnival in

June. A paper has recently been drafted to extend this

support for the Country in 2006 with the likely increase of

clubs outside of perth.

Other Highlights

• Continuing the successful 2003 and 2004 initiative

of appointing In-Goal touch Judges to all 2005 Senior

Finals fixtures.

• Continued use of IRB protocols for assessment of

referees for Finals fixtures.

• Re-accreditation program established for all existing

officials

• Successful exchange program established with the

Arabian Gulf Rugby Referees culminating in Matt

o’Brien’s appointment to officiate at the Dubai 7s in

november.

Conclusion

Whilst there are a number of very positive outcomes from

the 2005 season, the advent of Super 14 rugby in West

Australia in 2006 will bring a broader and higher level

profile within Community Rugby and it is crucial that the

management, recruitment and performance of officials

move in tandem. Without doubt 2006 and beyond

will bring fresh and more demanding challenges for all

officials in WA, and from these challenges exciting and

new opportunities will develop. It is the responsibility and

duty for all those involved in rugby in WA to meet these

challenges and support the officials.

AnthonyO’SheaRefereeManager

the 2005 season resulted in 26 players appearing before

the Judiciary as a result of 24 referee reports and 2 citings.

An analysis of the cases considered by the Judiciary is:

• Striking 15

• Referee abuse 3

• Illegal use of knee/foot offence 3

• Dangerous tackle 2

• Head butt 1

• other 2

Included in the striking offences were two players

who opted for a pre-determined sanction of 2 week

suspension. Season 2005 was the second year

under which players were given this option. on the

positive side, the stats for the year shows a continuing

improvement in player behaviour over previous year

statistics, the comparison being 26 reports in 2005, 31

reports in 2004 and 46 reports in 2003.

An analysis of the offences by grade was:

• premier grade 5

• Reserve grade 1

• A grade 7

• B grade 7

• under 19 grade 6

the major offence which resulted in a send-off was for

striking/punching, which was the also the situation in

previous years. these cases include originating offences,

retaliation and ‘third man in’ situations. Club officials

may note in assessing this that counseling of players in

this regard may reduce the number of send-offs their club

is exposed to in the future.

there continues to be cases of referee abuse, and

whilst the number was only three cases players and club

officials are reminded that there are severe penalties

prescribed for this offence under the WARu scale of

penalties. players are requested to show respect and

restraint to referees and match officials, without the

services of whom they do not get to play the game we all

enjoy.

players and club officials would be well aware of the

disservice, which offending players do to their team

by spending time under suspension. the Judiciary

encourages a continued effort for player self control in

the future.

In summary, the send off statistics seem to indicate that

player behaviour is continuing to improve.

the Judiciary panel comprised the following members

– Rod todman (Chairman), Michael Cashman (Deputy

Chairman), Bob Brain, Gary Sampson, Rick Roberts, John

Hancock and Milton Hunt.

RodTodmanJudiciaryChairman

Judiciary Report


2005 Overall

Junior Rugby union participation numbers continue to

rise on the back of a greater awareness of rugby union in

Western Australia. the announcement of the inclusion

of the emirates Western Force as the fourth Australian

Super 14 team will provide a strong focus for rugby union

at the junior level.

It was clear to the Junior union that a strategic approach

to future planning was required. the special qualities of

WA junior rugby needed to be maintained whilst ensuring

a framework for growth is implemented.

the first steps in response to this strategic planning

are currently being taken. the dependence on Britannia

Reserve can not be maintained and a proposed structure

of three zones for u7 – u10s is seen as a critical step in

taking the game to developing areas. A closer working

relationship with RugbyWA and linking into their structure

will enable a cleaner and quicker delivery of services to

clubs and affiliated bodies in season 2006.

the Midland and palmyra Juniors jointly received the

Stephen Fink Award for their overall contribution to Junior

Rugby in 2005. the Award recognises Clubs that have

provided a high level of support with matters such as

Saturday field set up and take down and assistance with

the smooth running of the canteen. Congratulations on

the Award to eddie Davies and Committee (Midland), and

nigel eaton and Committee (palmyra).

Volunteers todd nichol and Bill thomas provided

invaluable assistance to the running of the Saturday

competition and I would like to acknowledge their support

and continued contribution. thank you to Kyle Skiba for

coordinating the ground set up on Saturday mornings.

the president of the Western Australian Rugby union

Referees Association (WARuRA), nick Cogin, and

his executive Committee, continue to support the

development of our match officials in Junior Rugby.

Referee coaching and mentoring of junior match officials

is a feature of this support and the foundation work by

WARuRA in this area is significantly benefiting junior rugby.

2005 Competition

2005 was a significant year in that the Junior union was

able to offer a competition in every age group from under

7 through to under 17. An increase in the number of

teams competing in the Saturday morning competition

saw 183 teams registered (up from 162 in 2004) and 50

WAJRU Report


of these teams were playing Walla rugby (u7/8). one-

third of our growth was in the Walla rugby age groups.

three key areas require special mention:

• School involvement in the competition – Scotch

College (u16s) and CBC Fremantle (u13s). the

participation of these two schools in the competition

was a positive step and their continued involvement is

welcomed and encouraged.

• u11s and u12s competition – In the second half of

the competition two divisions were created in both

these age groups. the aim of the divisions was to

ensure closer games and an increased enjoyment for

participants.

• u16s competition – WAJRu has been eager for a

number of years to provide a viable u16s competition.

A high drop out rate is a characteristic of this age

group and by providing a u16s competition we hope to

address this trend.

Congratulations to Club Champion for 2004, Joondalup

Brothers. In the rapidly expanding northern suburbs,

Joondalup is well positioned to maintain a strong junior

focus.

the bonus points system for player and spectator attitude

was again continued and expanded in season 2005. In

association with the Referees we will continue to support

this initiative in 2006.

Development

Walla Rugby Clinics were trialed at Britannia Reserve

under the guidance of RugbyWA. the clinics proved

successful with basic skills being actively illustrated to

participants, coaches and parents. these clinics will be

expanded in 2006.

the u15 Development Squad traveled to the Gold Coast

to participate in the high profile Gold Coast Rugby

Carnival. the squad completed a successful Carnival

by not only wining their division but also taking out two

prestigious awards; the ‘Spirit of Rugby’ Award, voted by

the participating teams and the ‘Canterbury’ Award, voted

by the referees. this is an outstanding effort and is a

credit to the players and the touring management team.

parents and the player’s clubs should also be very proud

of these achievements.

the continued professional management of this tour by

Martin Cowley, on behalf of WAJRu, is acknowledged and

greatly appreciated.

our u16 State team participated in Division 1 of the

Australian u16 Championships at Riverview College,

Sydney. After a slow start to the Championships the

team had a win over Victoria and finished with a ranking

of seventh. on behalf of the WAJRu, the players, coaches

and management are to be congratulated for their efforts

and the high standard of their State representation.

Administration

the valuable assistance of the Junior Rugby Coordinator

position was consolidated in season 2005. this position

is appointed by RugbyWA and is financially supported by

the WAJRu. the duties of this position have increased

and it is clear that the Junior Rugby Coordinator has

created a more professional face for Junior Rugby with

improved accessibility and prompter responses to issues.

omar Haji has implemented the wide range of tasks with

professionalism, and the Clubs and the WAJRu executive

Committee appreciate his enormous contribution.

Club assistance and cooperation throughout the season

is a feature of our structure. this would not be possible

without the continued support of Club presidents,

Secretaries and Junior Coordinators. thank you for your

contribution.

RugbyWA provides positive support for the aims and

objectives of the WAJRu with Board member Stephen

Fink’s guidance and assistance greatly appreciated. I

would like to acknowledge RugbyWA staff members

Mitch Hardy, Stuart Dart, Brenden loag, Dwayne nestor,

Anthony o’Shea, omar Haji and Helen Sutherland

whom all positively contributed to Junior Rugby in their

respective areas.

the demands on the Junior executive have increased

markedly. Chris olliver, Julie Skiba, Karen Hodson.

Beverley McDougall, Brian thompson, and tala tuiavii

have provided an enormous contribution to Junior Rugby

union in season 2005. I personally appreciated their

support and acknowledge their tireless efforts.

Season 2006 will present our greatest challenge to date.

Rapidly increasing participation requires some strategic

changes and I request all our members consider and

evaluate the changes constructively and in the context of

the development of the overall Junior union. We are most

certainly at the start of an exciting time for Junior Rugby

in Western Australia.

StephenCarrickPresident,WAJRU

In 2005 WARuRA appointed referees to all sanctioned

matches played in the perth metropolitan area (and some

beyond). I am advised by our Referee Manager that is an

achievement that no other Australian referee association

can boast. Given the growth in our juniors and the

continued strength of our seniors we should be proud of

this achievement.

We also need to be proud of the achievements of

our members. Geoff patching and Matt o’Brien were

appointed by the ARu to officiate at the Australian

School’s Championships. this is regarded as a

development step and it is noteworthy that we had two

members at this event. Geoff was again selected to

officiate at Australian Rugby Shield matches. Rohen Skiba

was appointed by the ARu to officiate at the Darwin 7’s

early in 2006. Matt o’Brien was been appointed by the

executive and departed on Monday 28 november 2005

to officiate at the Dubai 7’s. this is a very significant

exchange and we need to acknowledge the work of John

Hill in organising two referees from Dubai to commence

this exchange. We anticipate that the Dubai exchange

will continue and become a very significant development

opportunity. I would like to acknowledge the work Anthony

o’Shea, in conjunction with RugbyWA, has done to

organise and fund appropriate exchanges for our members

An issue that became very apparent in 2005 was the

lack of depth in our referee panels. our objective is to

implement strategies to have strong competition between

those referees in the A & B panels. that was clearly not

the situation in 2005 and I suspect it may not be the

case in 2006. You can therefore expect that you will see

initiates to increase the depth of our referee panels.

Website

probably the most successful initiative for the season

was the WARuRA website. We all owe a debt of gratitude

to Sam James for creating the site and David procopis for

assuming responsibility for the management of it. David

spent many hours maintaining the site with relevant and

interesting information.

New Kit

the season started with the launch of our new strip and

kit. the launch function was very successful, and gave us

the venue to focus our membership on the new season

ahead.

Generally the new strip and kit was a successful

initiative. I acknowledge the quality of the manufacturing

process and delivery times for some of the kit was a

little disappointing. However we must all acknowledge

that every member received new kit free of charge. this

initiative was designed to give something back to every

member. the executive was generally satisfied that the

project matched our expectations from a value for money

perspective.

Referee Abuse

At our last AGM referee abuse was a very potent topic

of discussion. the executive understood from the last

AGM that referee abuse was a big issue for our members

WARURA Report


and the time had come to implement some strategies to

stop what appeared to be a concerning cultural shift from

within our game. Consequently, the executive decided to

take a very strong stand to try to stop referee abuse in

season 2006.

I am happy to say that after a bit of a slow start we

received the full support from RugbyWA and the clubs.

By the middle of the season we had made some positive

steps to communicating our message. I am confident

that the issues that arose in 2004 and early 2005 are

very unlikely to re-occur in 2006.

Fitness & Selection Policy

the executive was concerned that there had been criticism

about the quality of refereeing in 2004. In direct response

to this issue the executive asked the CAB to require

objective fitness levels that would be applied to selection

policy throughout the season. the response from the

membership was poor. We started the season with a

much reduced B panel because quite a few members could

not meet the fitness level that the CAB had (in consultation

with the executive) set. In my view this exposed one

factor that needs attention as soon as possible. Most

of our existing B panel regard refereeing as a weekend

past-time who are not able (generally due to professional

commitments) to meet what most would regard as

moderate fitness results early in the season. I am not

saying this is an unsatisfactory result. I accept that due

to professional commitments some of our members can’t

meet the standards that were set. Consequently we need

to develop/recruit more referees who are younger and are

legitimate A and B panel candidates.

Education Programme

the executive (primarily Geoff patching) and Anthony

o’Shea put a lot of pre-season effort into developing an

education programme that was intended to be challenging

and would provide measurable outcomes. this process

included the introduction of videoing club matches and

starting the season with a pre-season training session

that was aimed at our A and B panel referees. I am

aware that the programme had its problems. I suspect

the main problem was that it may have been too

ambitious. You can expect more work to be done in this

area of our development plans.

Juniors

We continued to have strong growth in the juniors and

that is expected to continue next season. our juniors

continued to be well serviced by the commitment of Julie

Skiba, Brian thompson Henry egan and Geoff patching as

well as out referee coaches who assisted the Junior CAB.

the juniors are our Association’s future and we owe a

debt of gratitude to all members who give up their time to

help out at the juniors.

We continue to have a very healthy relationship with

WAJRu and I am grateful for the assistance and

cooperation we enjoy with Mr Stephen Carrick (president

WAJRu) and all members of the WAJRu executive.

RugbyWA

I would also like to thank our referee manager Anthony

o’Shea and Mitch Hardy for their work with our Association.

Anthony continues to provide a very valuable link between

RugbyWA and WARuRA. Mitch has been very supportive

of our Association and I am confident that we will build on

what is already a very solid cooperative working relationship

CAB & Referee Coaches

We all owe a debt of gratitude to David procopis, Maurie

Day and John Schlafrig for the work they did referee

coaching and selecting referees for all of our appointments.

I also wish to thank all our referee coaches who assisted

throughout the year. Referee coaching is a relatively

thankless task and it takes a strong commitment to the

development of the game to be a referee coach. those that

work in out association are experienced and skilled. We

hope to see them back next season as every referee coach

is crucial to our referee development plans.

Executive

I would like to thank all members of the executive (Kim

Short, Anthony Carroll Geoff patching, Sam James and

Mark nicholas) for their work during the year. this year

the executive worked very hard on trying to give all

members more for their membership dollar. In my view

improvements were made and I would also concede that

much more needs to be done.

lastly I would like to thank all of our members for their

continued support of our association and Rugby in

general. I finish this report where I started and that is

without your efforts there would be no Rugby. I also ask

that you all return in season 2006. the 2006 season

this will be very challenging and also very exciting.

NickCoginPresident,WARURA

2005 has again proven to be a successful year for

Country Rugby. our numbers have grown significantly over

the past 12-months and it would be safe to assume that

the start of our own professional Rugby team would be a

factor driving this.

Since the 2003 World Cup and the inception of the

Force, the face of rugby as we know it has changed. We

have seen RugbyWA go from an amateur Association

to a multi million operation in a matter of months. the

on flow affect in its first year has already reached both

metropolitan and country clubs.

I was fortunate enough to be invited on the Country trips

with the Force to Geraldton and Albany. the weekends

allowed me to see what talents these players had, that

got them to a Super 14 level. I found that the players

and even the coaches are no different from your normal

club rugby, have a few beers, sing a few songs, play some

games on the bus trip and then drink a few more beers. I

believe that it’s the opportunities that these players were

provided early in their playing careers that makes a Super

14 player. now that WA can provide these opportunities,

it won’t be long before more WA boys pull on the blue

jersey.

Goldfields

the number of teams dropped a little this year with

both Kambalda and the Brothers not playing due to

internal issues, this saw the creation of the Kalgoorlie

Stormers. After a few weeks, the Stormers fast became a

powerhouse Goldfields team that saw them quickly rise to

the top end of the competition ladder.

With four teams battling it out over the season, the

Buschwackers and the Stormers contested a hard fought

Grand Final that saw the Bushwackers again defend their

title 36-16.

Southwest

the Southwest Competition was fought out by three teams,

Margaret River, Dunsborough and narrogin. All of the teams

contested very well and with not much between them, it was

going to lead to a very tight finish for the finals.

the two final teams to walk the field were Minor premiers,

Dunsborough and Margaret River. At halftime, both

teams were locked at 10 points a piece. Margaret River

was crowned Champions with a 22-15 victory.

With the further development of Country Rugby, 2006

will see the re-emergence of Collie into the Southwest

Competition.

WACRU Report


Great Southern

the Great Southern have been the big plus for Country

Rugby with Albany, Mt Barker, Denmark & Katanning all

forming the Great Southern.

Mt Barker had its inaugural 10’s Competition with a total

of five teams participating. the competition saw Margaret

River win the final over Dunsborough. After the success

of this tournament, the 2006 10’s will be played during

the easter Break with a number of perth teams travelling

to Mt Barker along with the Country participants.

Geraldton

the Geraldton Internationals are made up of players from

around the world that have formed a team to play against

other teams that tour to Geraldton.

Country Carnival

Country Carnival was a great success with all regions

being represented. Again, the ever powerful Buschwackers

proved too strong and defeated the Stormers in the final to

reclaim the title of Country Champions.

thank you to Mitch, Brendan and Dwayne for coming out

of retirement and supporting the Great Southern. I know

you all spent a few weeks afterwards recovering from the

damage inflicted on those aging bodies.

the 2006 Country Carnival will hosted by Geraldton during

the June long weekend. the facilities in Geraldton are

exceptional and I’m sure it will be a great success.

WA Country

the WA Country team played two representative games

this year with the first against an A-Grade Selection team.

WA Country Coach, Greg Hunt anticipated a hard game,

and indeed it was. the Country players found it hard

to contain the ball out wide with the speedsters on the

wings and the A-Grade defeated Country 26-14.

the second game for the year was against perth-

Bayswater during the test Match weekend. perth came

out a little under manned and this made it easy for

WA Country to dominate the ball. Country convincingly

defeated perth 48-10.

RayMills

President,WACRU

the 2005 Women’s season was a mixed bag with some

good rugby being played in between some issues with

player numbers and forfeits. the regular competition

included teams from Cottesloe, university, Kalamunda,

Southern lions and newcomers Wanneroo competing over

14 rounds of competition, culminating in a top four finals

series.

Cottesloe and Kalamunda were the form teams of the

competition, with Wanneroo showing serious improvement

by season end. Cottesloe took on Southern lions in a

one sided Grand Final, and were easy victors, displaying

all the speed and skill that had served them well through

out the season.

there were several other initiatives throughout the

season to give the women access to higher level rugby.

the first of these was a north vs South curtain raiser to

an Argonaut Gold fixture. Both teams displayed some

good rugby and there was very positive feedback from all

involved.

Women had another opportunity to press for higher rugby

honours when the Australian selectors flew to perth to

view a weekend of fixtures with the aim of selecting squad

members for the Womens Rugby World Cup in 2006. An

eventual 8 women were selected in the national talent

WAWRU Report

Squad, which included 140 members across Australia.

these women will take part in training and testing and will

need to make it through several reductions of the squad

as it is narrowed down to 40 in total.

Cottesloe’s Debby Hodgkinson won the Sue Roberts

Medal for best player in the Womens Competition. Debby

had an outstanding season and was also selected in the

Womens ntS squad with high hopes of making it to the

World Cup in Canada in 2006.

A player survey was also distributed at the end of the

season to gauge players’ thoughts on various aspects of

the competition structure. this summary document will

provide the basis for planning for the 2006 season.

From a management perspective the committee met on

a monthly basis with representatives from each club to

cover any issues arising during the season. Matthew

nolan in his role as treasurer must be recognised for the

huge effort he put in going above and beyond his role.

unfortunately Matthew is moving back to Queensland

next year and his services will be sorely missed on the

committee next season.

TimDaviesRugbyWARugbyServicesCoordinator


It was another successful season for Schools Rugby in

WA in 2005. the WA Schoolboys were the joint winners

of the Division 2 interstate championships, and 11

players were selected as members of the Combined

States team which participated in the Division 1 carnival.

thank you to all the volunteers who contributed to the

successful season and also to the RugbyWA staff omar

Haji, Mitch Hardy, Anthony o’Shea and Brenden loag.

Without assistance from our parent body the competition

would revert to being run by volunteers. Most school

teams are run by teachers who are also coaching and

managing teams. thank you also to RugbyWA for a grant

of $4,000 towards the administrative costs of running

schools Rugby during 2005. Also thanks to School

Sport WA for their sponsorship of eDWA teachers who

participated in the Interstate carnival.

the two-year window continues to be a divisive issue.

Whilst we accept the safety issues related to it we must

continue to voice our concerns. the Headmasters of the

pSA competition demanded some clarity with the 2 year

window and the 12-point agreement between RugbyWA

and the pSA. this was revisited and a resolution was

made for 2005, the ARu’s decision to make the 2 – year

window mandatory for all age – grade rugby in Australia

will cause further fraction in 2006. this decision will

be to the detriment of schoolboy Rugby competitions

throughout Australia and is being vigorously challenged by

the Australian Schools Rugby union.

An agreement on competition rules was not reached in

time for the pSA competitions to run without interruption,

this must be avoided in 2006 so the schools can get on

with encouraging boys to play the game.

Combined Schools and Colleges Competition

Some schools reported difficulties with interpreting the

2005 year divisions. In some cases the school year

divisions were misinterpreted as age divisions. At least

two small schools were unable to fill teams because the

2 year restrictions did not allow students in the year prior

to the division to participate. the placing of the year

12 competitions in term 2 is a cause for concern since

most schools have exams during the competition which

requires fixture changes and forfeits. A revision of the

competition format will take place before 2006.

the 2005 Schools Rugby season had 3 different staff

administering the competition at various stages, mainly

due to the advent of the emirates Western Force. With

these staff changes within RugbyWA, unfamiliarity with

WASRU Report

local conditions and competition rules caused some

minor problems.

Some fine tuning is required with reciprocity of penalties.

I understood that penalties were mutual between schools

and juniors preventing players from playing in a different

system and avoiding a penalty imposed. this area needs

some further governance and cooperation between the

two bodies.

CompetitionFormat

the 2005 competition was contested across terms 2 and

terms 3, with competitions played in 4 zones to minimise

travel time and around 1100 players participating from

29 schools.

the following table indicates the various competitions, the

day they were held, commencement date and completion

date:

Competition Term Day Commencement Completion

Date Date

open 2 tue May Jun

Year 10 2 Wed May Jun

Year 9 3 Wed August Sep

Year 8 3 tue August Sep

Participation

With around 1,100 players participating from 29 schools

the CSC competition is stable with a similar participation

figure for the last few years.

Results 2005

Competition Winning School Runner Up

open Div John XXIII Safety Bay High

Year 10 Aranmore Mandurah Catholic College

Year 9 Aranmore Kolbe

Year 8 Aranmore thornlie

Interstate Carnival, Division II Championships

the WA team participated in the Division II carnival held in

June at Geelong Grammar.

the 4th Division two Australian Schools Rugby union

Championships were staged at Geelong Grammar,

Melbourne from Friday 24th June – thursday 30 June

2005. WA Schools won every game except the final

which they drew with Victoria in a thrilling final. WA was

rewarded with 11 boys being selected in the Combined

States team. Adam Scari was selected in the Australian

“A” Schoolboys team.

the result of the Championship Final was as follows:

• Victoria 12 (Fa’afitu Seu, James tupai tries; Christian

lealiifano conversion)

• WA 12 (Glyn edwards, David Mafi tries; Rory McCarthy

conversion)

WinnersCharlesBluntTrophy–VictoriaandWesternAustralia(shared)

CombinedStatesPlayers2005

the following the players made the Combined States

team in 2005 – 11 in total

• tane Heke

• Quentin Stockil

• Sean Batchelor

• Glynn edwards

• tim Carslaw

• Angus neilson (WA Captain)

• Adam Scari

• Andrew Farquharson

• Arnie Slabber

• Rory McCarthy

• Ben lindegaard

Adam Scari went on to play for Australia ‘A’ vs Samoa.

WA Schools have once again had a very successful

season and are very grateful for the support and

assistance from RugbyWA and WA School Sport.

RichardTrend

President,WASRU


Awards

Best Player Argonaut Gold

Ryan lenegan (uni)

RugbyWA Referee of the Year

Geoff patching

RugbyWA Coach of the Year

Des thornton

Laurie de la Hunty Trophy for Most Improved Player

Michael patching (uni)

George Newstead Trophy for Most Outstanding Colt

tristan Winnal (Soaks)

Sue Roberts Trophy for Best and Fairest Women

Debby Hodgkinson (Cott)

PG Hampshire Trophy

Matt Aiken (Cott)

PG Hampshire Leaderboard

16 – Matt Aiken (Cott)

15 – Greg plimmer (Wests)

14 – Robbie Barugh (Soaks)

13 – Anthony Brain (Soaks), Matthew peachey (Kala),

Michael patching (uni)

PGHampshireTrophy–MattAiken(Cott).

SueRobertsTrophyforBestandFairestWomen–DebbyHodgkinson(Cott).

Grade Tables

Competition: RugbyWA

Grade: Premier P W L D Bye B F A % Pts

Cottesloe 16 12 4 0 2 12 500 214 234 68

Wests-Subiaco 16 12 4 0 2 11 458 239 192 67

nedlands 16 11 5 0 2 12 493 192 257 64

Associates 16 10 6 0 2 15 459 220 209 63

university 16 11 5 0 2 9 397 201 198 61

Kalamunda 16 8 8 0 2 7 329 347 95 47

perth-Bayswater 16 5 11 0 2 6 292 476 61 34

Wanneroo 16 2 14 0 2 5 236 547 43 21

palmyra 16 1 15 0 2 7 225 503 45 19


Grade: Reserve P W L D Bye B F A % Pts

Cottesloe 16 14 2 0 2 11 489 162 302 75

Associates 16 12 4 0 2 13 438 144 304 69

nedlands 16 12 4 0 2 10 409 149 274 66

Wests-Subiaco 16 11 5 0 2 10 419 200 210 62

Kalamunda 16 10 6 0 2 10 388 208 186 58

Wanneroo 16 5 11 0 2 4 224 408 55 32

university 16 4 12 0 1 8 231 372 62 28

perth-Bayswater 16 3 13 0 2 4 183 420 44 24

palmyra 16 1 15 0 2 2 156 449 35 14


Grade: A Grade P W L D Bye B F A % Pts

Rockingham 18 17 1 0 0 16 652 135 483 84

ARKs 17 16 1 0 1 13 539 92 586 81

Joondalup 18 13 5 0 0 14 566 241 235 66

Kalamunda 17 12 4 1 1 10 364 208 175 64

Curtin 17 12 4 1 1 6 322 199 162 60

Southern lions 18 11 6 1 0 9 414 207 200 55

Wests-Subiaco 18 11 6 1 0 9 345 196 176 55

Mandurah 17 9 7 1 1 8 360 238 151 50

Midland 17 8 8 1 1 10 427 241 177 48

palmyra 17 8 8 1 1 10 335 237 141 48

Associates 17 8 8 1 1 10 350 339 103 48

Cottesloe 17 8 9 0 1 9 295 252 117 45

perth-Bayswater 18 5 13 0 0 6 244 504 48 26

nedlands 18 5 13 0 0 5 240 426 56 25

Wanneroo 17 2 15 0 1 2 80 460 17 14

Bunbury 17 1 16 0 1 1 101 697 14 9

university 18 1 17 0 0 0 78 600 13 4



Grade: B Grade P W L D Bye B F A % Pts

Associates Green 17 17 0 0 1 16 736 45 1636 88

perth-Bayswater 18 17 1 0 0 13 639 125 511 81

Rockingham 18 14 4 0 0 14 480 151 318 70

ARKs 18 15 3 0 0 9 491 207 237 69

Mandurah 17 10 7 0 1 9 263 176 149 53

Cottesloe 17 10 7 0 1 9 390 292 134 53

nedlands 17 9 8 0 1 10 334 217 154 50

Joondalup 17 9 7 1 1 6 325 257 126 48

Curtin 18 10 7 1 0 4 224 186 120 46

Associates 18 8 9 1 0 8 263 317 83 42

Midland 16 7 9 0 1 4 252 347 73 36

Wests-Subiaco 17 6 10 1 1 4 179 242 74 34

Southern lions 2 18 6 11 1 0 5 230 550 42 31

Southern lions 17 3 14 0 1 8 237 414 57 24

Bunbury 17 4 12 1 0 5 176 358 49 23

Wanneroo 18 2 16 0 0 4 123 531 23 12

university 9 1 8 0 0 2 68 262 26 6

palmyra 9 1 8 0 0 0 20 324 6 4

Kalamunda 8 0 8 0 0 0 20 249 8 0


Grade: Under 19 P W L D Bye B F A % Pts

Rockingham 18 16 2 0 0 12 416 158 263 76

nedlands Blue 17 14 3 0 1 15 551 114 483 75

Associates 17 14 3 0 1 12 534 103 518 72

Kalamunda 16 12 4 0 2 12 464 122 380 68

university 17 11 6 0 1 10 305 146 209 58

palmyra 17 10 7 0 1 12 371 238 156 56

perth-Bayswater 17 9 7 1 1 11 391 254 154 53

nedlands Gold 18 9 9 0 0 7 276 337 82 43

Associates Green 17 5 12 0 1 6 235 368 64 30

ARKs 18 5 12 1 0 5 170 561 30 27

Wests-Subiaco 17 4 13 0 1 6 206 494 42 26

Wanneroo 18 2 14 2 0 0 83 385 22 12

Joondalup 9 2 7 0 0 3 69 194 36 11

Southern lions 18 2 16 0 0 3 102 474 22 11


Grade: Women P W L D Bye B F A % Pts

Cottesloe 10 9 0 1 3 15 440 38 1158 65

Kalamunda 11 9 2 0 2 17 416 69 603 61

Wanneroo 10 2 8 0 3 13 130 403 32 33

Southern lions 10 3 6 1 2 8 212 213 100 30

university 11 2 9 0 2 4 101 276 37 20


the awarding of a the fourth Australian Super 14 team to

perth in December 2004 not only provided recruitment

and other professional rugby challenges, but the prospect

of managing rapid growth and change in our business

also provided us with the opportunity to establish some

of the most up to date business practices within a

professional sporting organisation in Australia.

In 2005 RugbyWA spent significant time and resources

on the set up of Information technology, Accounting and

Software based systems, and also the recruitment and

training of staff required to manage and work within our

various business units. Budgets and other forecasts were

developed for each business unit and our team shared

a clear vision during 2005 of ensuring the systems and

investments we made in 2005 would benefit our business

for years to come.

our Management team worked closely in recruiting,

training and retaining the best people for our business

and our ongoing commitment to staff developed and

support, will ensure RugbyWA remains an employer of

choice in the Western Australian market place.

With the prospect of limited funding in 2005 and faced

with the likelihood of a significant financial deficit, our

focus was very much on investing wisely for our future.

large financial contributions were made to the recruitment

and establishment of our professional rugby division. A

significant increase of funding was provided to Community

Rugby during 2005 and we have committed to additional

resources to Community Development in 2006.

the success of our investment of resources has also

resulted in us achieving the largest membership base of

any Super 14 team in Australian and this has provided a

financial platform for our future growth. our investments

also resulted in our sponsorship team securing above

budgeted levels of commitments from the business

community and our marketing team have exceeded

expectation in their ability to secure an impressive

corporate hospitality portfolio.

For the 14 month year ended 31 December 2005, our

business posted a net trading loss of $2,893,401

against a budgeted loss of $2,937,471. And given that

several investments were made outside of budget during

2005, this is an encouraging result.

nevertheless, our business does face financial and

business related challenges over the forthcoming 2-3

years. our team is committed to working closely to

manage these challenges and to ensure that RugbyWA

continues to grow and prosper.

I would also like to thank Geoff Stooke (Chairman), terry

Bradbury

(Director) and our Chief executive officer, peter o’Meara,

for their energy, direction and leadership during 2005.

they have all made an enormous contribution to our

success to date.

DavidRoundChiefFinancialOfficerandSecretarytotheBoard

Chief Finance Officer

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN RUGBY UNION (INC.)

ABN3001394750114MonthPeriodEnded31December2005

Director’s Report

Your board members submit the financial report of the

Western Australian Rugby union (Inc.) (‘RugbyWA’) for the

14 month period ended 31 December 2005.

Board Members

the names of board members throughout the period and

at the date of this report are:

Geoffrey Stooke: Chairman

Anthony Harvey: president

terry Bradbury

Steve Fink

David Redpath

Arthur Hill: retired May 2005

Bryan French: retired May 2005

Rick Watson: retired May 2005

Gary Sampson: retired May 2005

Richard Henning: retired May 2005

Russell perry: appointed July 2005

Vern Reid: appointed october 2005

Brent Stewart: appointed october 2005

Robert Viol: appointed July 2005

Brendan Cannon: player Representative, appointed

october 2005

peter o’Meara: Chief executive officer, appointed

February 2006

David Round – Secretary

Principal Activities

the principal activities of the association during the

financial year were the operation and management of

Rugby union development in Western Australia and the

formation of the professional team the emirates Western

Force.

Significant Changes in the State of Affairs

the Australian Rugby union granted a license to RugbyWA

to participate in the new Super 14 competition from

2006. this significant event has resulted in our business

undertaking significant growth and development in the

2005 year.

there was also a change of year end from 31 october

to 31 December commencing with the 14 month period

ended 31 December 2005, to coincide with reporting

periods of the other unions in Australia.

Operating Result

the loss for the period amounted to $2,893,401 for the

14 months ended 31 December 2005.

Events Occurring After Balance Date

there have been no material events after balance date

that are required to be disclosed.

Signed in accordance with a resolution of the members of

the Board.

GeoffreyStooke

Dated:9March2006Perth

Financial Report


STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE FOR THE 14 MONTH PERIOD ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2005

Note 2005 2004

$ $

Revenue 2 3,766,764 855,019

employee benefits expense (2,791,605) (435,473)

Administration expenses (2,414,786) (294,350)

Borrowing costs (4,247) -

Depreciation expense (149,532) (99,614)

Marketing expenses (227,633) (15,630)

occupancy expenses (218,881) (12,483)

legal and consulting expenses (454,183) -

other expenses (399,298) -

NETLOSSATTRIBUTABLETOMEMBERS 13(B) (2,893,401) (2,531)

Theaccompanyingnotesformpartofthisfinancialreport.

Financial Statement

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2005

Note 2005 2004

$ $

CURRENTASSETS

Cash 3 8,522,365 820,225

Receivables 4 402,172 73,631

Inventories 5 58,762 17,504

other current assets 6 690,729 855

TOTALCURRENTASSETS 9,674,028 912,215

NON-CURRENTASSETS

property, plant and equipment 7 542,614 142,179

TOTALNON-CURRENTASSETS 542,614 142,179

TOTALASSETS 10,216,642 1,054,394

CURRENTLIABILITIES

payables 8 1,321,676 65,426

unearned revenue 9 9,183,757 -

Finance leases 10 82,002 -

non interest bearing liability 11 780,000 -

provisions 12 115,019 142,328

TOTALCURRENTLIABILITIES 11,482,456 207,754

NON-CURRENTLIABILITIES

Finance leases 10 45,280 -

non interest bearing liability 11 720,000 -

provisions 12 15,669 -

TOTALNON-CURRENTLIABILITIES 780,949 -

TOTALLIABILITIES 12,263,405 207,754

NETASSETS (2,046,761) 846,640

MEMBERS’FUNDS

Reserves 13 - 30,000

(Accumulated losses)/Retained profits 13 (2,046,761) 816,640

TOTALMEMBERS’FUNDS (2,046,761) 846,640

Theaccompanyingnotesformpartofthisfinancialreport.


NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE 14 MONTH PERIOD ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2005

NOTE1:SUMMARYOFSIGNIFICANTACCOUNTINGPOLICIES

a. FinancialReport

this financial report is a special purpose financial report prepared in order to satisfy the financial reporting

requirements of the Associations Incorporation Act of Western Australia. the Board has determined that the

association is not a reporting entity.

the requirements of accounting standards and other professional reporting requirements in Australia do not have

mandatory applicability to the Western Australian Rugby union (Inc.) in relation to the 14 month period ended 31

December 2005 because it is not a reporting entity.

the financial report has been prepared on an accruals basis of accounting including the historical cost convention and

the going concern assumption

the financial report has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Associations Incorporation Act

of Western Australia and the (AAS) Australian Accounting Standards, except where these have been superseded by

(AASB) Australian Accounting Standards Board. the following standards have not been complied with:-

AAS 22: Related party Disclosures

AAS 28: Statement of Cashflows

AAS 33: presentation and Disclosure of Financial Instruments

AAS 37: Financial Report presentation and Disclosure

AASB1005: Segment Reporting

AASB1010: Recoverable Amount of non Current Assets

AASB1034: Financial Report presentation and Disclosures

AASB1047: Disclosing the Impacts of Adoption to Australian equivalents to International Accounting Standards

b. ChangeinAccountingPolicies

the accounting policies adopted are consistent with those of the previous year.

c. IncomeTax

the Association is a body in accordance with s50-45 of the Income tax Assessments Act (1997) which exempts

sporting clubs from income tax.

d. CashandCashEquivalents

Cash on hand, in banks and short term deposits are stated at nominal value. Cash includes cash on hand and in

banks, and money market investments readily convertible to cash.

e. TradeandOtherReceivables

trade receivables are recognised and carried at original invoice amount less any provision for doubtful debts. A

provision for doubtful debts is recognised when collection of the full amount is no longer probable. Bad debts are

written off as incurred.

f. Inventories

Inventories are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2005

NOTE1:STATEMENTOFSIGNIFICANTACCOUNTINGPOLICIES(cont’d)

g. Property,PlantandEquipment

Cost

Subsequent to initial recognition as an asset all classes of property, plant and equipment are measured at cost.

Depreciation

Depreciation is provided on a straight- line basis on all property, plant and equipment.

Majordepreciationperiodsare: 2005 2004

Freehold buildings 40 years 40 years

Furniture and fittings 2 to 10 years 2 to 10 years

leasehold improvements the lease term the lease term

Motor vehicles 7 years 7 years

plant and equipment 2 to 15 years 2 to 15 years

h. Leases

leases of assets, where substantially all the risks and benefits incidental to the ownership of the asset, but not the

legal ownership, are transferred to the Association, are classified as finance leases. Finance leases are capitalised

recording an asset and a liability equal to the present value of the minimum lease payments, including any guaranteed

residual values. leased assets are amortised on a straight line basis over their estimated useful lives where it

is likely that the association will obtain ownership of the asset or over the term of the lease. lease payments are

allocated between the reduction of the lease liability and the lease interest expense for the period.

lease payments under operating leases, where substantially all the risks and benefits remain with the lessor, are

charged as expenses in the period in which they are incurred.

i. TradeandOtherPayables

liabilities for trade creditors and other amounts are carried at cost which is the fair value of the consideration to be

paid in the future for goods and services received, whether or not billed to the Association.

j. Provisions

provisions are recognised when the economic entity has a legal, equitable or constructive obligation to make a future

sacrifice of economic benefits to other entities as a result of past transactions or other past events, it is probable

that a future sacrifice of economic benefits will be required and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the

obligation.



NOTE1:STATEMENTOFSIGNIFICANTACCOUNTINGPOLICIES(cont’d)

k. RevenueRecognition

Revenue is recognised to the extent that it is probable that the economic benefits will flow to the Association and

the revenue can be reliably measured. the following specific recognition criteria must also be met before revenue is

recognised.

RenderingofServices

Where the contract outcome can be reliably measured:

• control of a right to be compensated for the services has been attained and the stage of completion can be reliably

measured. For membership subscription, stage of completion is measured by reference to matches played and

costs incurred. For sponsorship revenue, stage of completion is measured by reference to periods fulfilled as a

percentage of total sponsorship periods.

Where the contract outcome cannot be reliably measured:

• revenue is recognised only to the extent that costs have been incurred.

Interest

Control of the right to receive the interest payment.

SaleofGoods

Control of the goods has passed to the buyer.

l. EstablishmentCosts

establishment costs associated with the setting up of a professional rugby team including salaries, support

staff salaries, recruitment and team management expenses have been expensed in the statement of financial

performance.

m. EmployeeBenefits

provision is made for employee benefits accumulated as a result of employees rendering services up to the reporting

date. these benefits include wages and salaries, annual leave and long service leave.

liabilities arising in respect of wages and salaries, annual leave and any other employee benefits expected to be

settled within twelve months of the reporting date are measured at their nominal amounts based on remuneration

rates which are expected to be paid when the liability is settled. All other employee benefit liabilities are measured at

the present value of the estimated future cash outflow to be made in respect of services provided by employees up to

the reporting date. In determining the present value of future cash outflows, the market yield as at the reporting date

on national government bonds, which have terms to maturity approximating the terms of the related liability, are used.

employee benefit expenses and revenues arising in respect of the following categories:

• wages and salaries, non-monetary benefits, annual leave, long service leave and other leave benefits; and

• other types of employee benefits are recognised against profits on a net basis in their respective categories.


2005 2004

$ $

NOTE2:REVENUE

Memberships 167,454 -

Sponsorship 1,140,321 219,678

licensing 120,608 -

Grants received 1,785,638 470,969

Interest received 137,974 -

Sundry revenue 414,769 164,372

3,766,764 855,019

NOTE3:CASH

Cash at bank 472,663 86,775

term deposits 8,049,702 733,450

8,522,365 820,225

NOTE4:RECEIVABLES

trade debtors 367,291 73,631

Sundry debtors 34,881 -

402,172 73,631

NOTE5:INVENTORIES

At cost 21,503 17,504

At net realisable value 37,259 -

58,762 17,504

NOTE6:OTHERCURRENTASSETS

Deferred costs 375,598 -

prepayments 299,633 855

other 15,498 -

690,729 855



2005 2004

$ $

NOTE7:PROPERTY,PLANTANDEQUIPMENT

Buildings – cost 523,754 523,754

less accumulated depreciation (523,754) (457,474)

- 66,280

leasehold improvements – cost 162,438 45,534


109,158 6,108

plant and equipment – cost 479,511 163,279


286,618 12,888

Furniture and fittings – cost 212,523 154,288


89,573 48,290

leased plant and equipment – cost 58,595 -

less accumulated depreciation (7,682) -

50,913 -

Motor vehicles 23,877 23,877


6,352 8,613

542,614 142,179

NOTE8:PAYABLES

trade payables 936,001 1,108

other payables 385,675 64,318

1,321,676 65,426

NOTE9:UNEARNEDREVENUE

unearned membership revenue 5,712,719 -

unearned corporate hospitality revenue 3,252,218 -

unearned sponsorship revenue 218,820 -

9,183,757 -


2005 2004

$ $

NOTE10:FINANCELEASES

Finance lease - Current 82,002 -

Finance lease - non Current 45,280 -

127,282 -

NOTE11:NONINTERESTBEARINGLOAN

WA Government loan - Current 780,000 -

WA Government loan - non current 720,000 -

1,500,000 -

TheloanfromtheWAGovernmentisinterestfreeandispayableininstalmentsof$65,000startingon31January2005withafinal

paymentof$5,000on31December2007.

NOTE12:PROVISIONS

employee entitlements - Current 115,019 45,875

provision for Super 14 feasibility – Current - 42,094

provision for future ground expenditure - Current - 50,000

employee entitlements - non current 15,669 -

130,688 137,969

NOTE13:MEMBER’SFUNDS

a) Reserves

opening balance 30,000 30,000

transfer to retained profits (30,000) -

Closingbalance - 30,000

b) (Accumulated losses)/ retained profits

opening balance 816,640 819,171

transfer from reserves 30,000 -

loss for the period (2,893,401) (2,531)

Closingbalance (2,046,761) 816,640


STATEMENT BY MEMBERS OF THE BOARD

the board has determined that the Association is not a reporting entity and there is unlikely to exists users who

are unable to command the preparation of reports tailored to satisfy specifically all of their information needs. the

financial report has, however, been prepared in accordance with accounting standards and other professional reporting

requirements, as set out in note 1 to the financial statements.

the directors declare that :

1. the financial statements and notes, as set out on pages 3 to 10 presents fairly the Association’s financial position

as at 31 December 2005 and it’s performance for the 14 month period ended on that date in accordance with the

accounting policies described in note 1 to the financial statements; and

2. At the date of this statement, there are reasonable grounds to believe that Western Australian Rugby union (Inc.) will

be able to pay its debts as and when they fall due.

this declaration is made in accordance with a resolution of the Board and is signed for and on behalf of the Board by:

Chairman GeoffreyStooke

Dated:9March2006Perth

DETAILED INCOME AND EXPENDITURE STATEMENT FOR THE 14 MONTH PERIOD ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2005

2005 2004

$ $

INCOME

CommercialOperations

Sponsorship 997,477 -

licensing 120,609 -

Membership 167,454 -

Functions 84,109 -

TotalCommercialOperationsIncome 1,369,649 -

CommunityRugby

Grants received 875,640 470,969

Australian Rugby Shield 61,946 44,344

Club, team and player fees 40,616 42,540

Development tours 18,495 -

other income 134,622 49,973

perry lakes Complex revenue 74,980 27,515

Sponsorship 142,844 219,678

TotalCommunityRugbyIncome 1,349,143 855,019

ProfessionalRugby

Grants received 859,998 -

TotalProfessionalRugby 859,998 -

Corporate

Sundry revenue 5,000 -

Grants received 45,000 -

Interest received 137,974 -

TotalCorporateIncome 187,974 -

TOTALINCOME 3,766,764 855,019



2005 2004

$ $

EXPENDITURE

CommercialOperations

Advertising 36,080 -

Accommodation and travel 49,742 -

Brand development 144,329 -

Consultants and shared services 67,473 -

Courier services 4,608 -

Commercial ticket allocations 916 -

entertainment 14,203 -

employee costs 698,694 -

Functions 161,026 -

Gifts and donations 314 -

Information technology 82,333 -

legal 92,143 -

Media monitoring 4,371 -

Merchandising 355,596 -

Motor vehicle costs 24,550 -

other employment costs 2,541 -

photography 4,859 -

printing, stationery and postage 45,670 -

professional development 960 -

public relations 25,595 -

publications and subscriptions 4,903 -

Recruitment costs 4,250 -

Sponsorship costs 56,180 -

Staff amenities and other functions 891 -

Staff match day equipment 15,700 -

TotalCommercialOperationsExpenditure 1,897,927 -


2005 2004

$ $

CommunityRugby

Administration 49,553 50,447

Australian Rugby Shield Matches 54,231 47,137

Complex costs 69,615 -

Depreciation - 99,614

employee costs 774,418 435,473

General development 140,559 103,536

Grounds and facilities 11,700 12,483

publicity and marketing 14,772 15,630

Function costs 23,531 14,210

Sponsorship costs 14,271 60,362

Support to affiliated bodies 6,800 18,658

TotalCommunityRugbyExpenditure 1,159,450 857,550

ProfessionalRugby

Coaching & support staff 27,753 -

Medical support 61,728 -

player related costs 478,062 -

professional rugby operations 415,419 -

Rugby analyst 25,736 -

Strength and conditioning 92,061 -

team management 798,795 -

Rugby academy 60,373 -

TotalProfessionalRugbyExpenditure 1,959,927 -



2005 2004

$ $

Corporate

Accommodation and travel 14,775 -

Administration 8,166 -

Audit and accounting fees 36,202 -

Bank charges 102,604 -

Board expenses 1,324 -

Consultants and shared services 141,888 -

Depreciation 149,532 -

Donations and gifts 8,462 -

employee costs 563,099 -

entertainment 14,347 -

FBt 5,236 -

Hp interest expense 4,247 -

Insurance 64,941 -

legal and professional 55,473 -

other employment costs 23,220 -

other occupancy costs 60,452 -

printing, stationery and postage 64,979 -

publications and subscriptions 305 -

Recruitment costs 52,633 -

Rent and occupancy 46,685 -

Set up costs expended 40,030 -

Staff amenities 4,288 -

Strategic planning costs 112,763 -

telephone and communications 50,020 -

training and development 17,190 -

TotalCorporateExpenditure 1,642,861 -

TOTALEXPENDITURE 6,660,165 857,550

NetLossfromOrdinaryActivities (2,893,401) (2,531)

net profit (loss) from Commercial operations (528,278) -

net profit (loss) from Community Rugby 189,693 (2,531)

net profit (loss) from professional Rugby (1,099,929) -

NetProfit(Loss)fromCorporate (1,454,887) -

NetLossfromordinaryactivities (2,893,401) (2,531)

15

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

Independent audit report

To the members of the Western Australian Rugby Union (Inc.)

Scope

The financial report and the director’s responsibility

The financial report is a special purpose financial report and comprises the statement of financial position,

statement of financial performance and accompanying notes to the financial statements, and the directors

declaration for Western Australian Rugby Union (Inc.) (“the Association”), for the 14 month period ended

31 December 2005.

The directors are responsible for preparing a financial report that presents fairly the financial position and

performance of the Association. This includes responsibility for the maintenance of adequate accounting

records and internal controls that are designed to prevent and detect fraud and error, and for the accounting

policies and accounting estimates inherent in the financial report. The directors have determined that the

accounting policies used and described in Note 1 to the financial statements are consistent with the financial

reporting requirements of the Association and are appropriate to meet the needs of the members. These

policies do not require the application of all Accounting Standards and other mandatory financial reporting

requirements in Australia. No opinion is expressed as to whether the accounting policies used and described

in Note 1, are appropriate to the needs of the members.

The financial report has been prepared for distribution to the members for the purpose of fulfilling the

director’s financial reporting responsibilities. We disclaim any assumption of responsibility for any reliance

on this report or on the financial report to which it relates to any person other than the members, or for any

purpose other than that for which it was prepared.

Audit approach

We conducted an independent audit of the financial report in order to express an opinion on it to the

members of the Association. Our audit was conducted in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards in

order to provide reasonable assurance as to whether the financial report is free of material misstatement. The

nature of an audit is influenced by factors such as the use of professional judgement, selective testing, the

inherent limitations of internal control, and the availability of persuasive rather than conclusive evidence.

Therefore, an audit cannot guarantee that all material misstatements have been detected.

We performed procedures to assess whether in all material respects the financial report presents fairly, in

accordance with the accounting policies in Note 1 to the financial statements, a view which is consistent with

our understanding of the Association’s financial position, and of its performance as represented by the results

of its operations.

We formed our audit opinion on the basis of these procedures, which included:

• examining, on a test basis, information to provide evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures

in the financial report, and

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• assessing the appropriateness of the disclosures used and the reasonableness of significant

accounting estimates made by the management of the Association.

While we considered the effectiveness of management’s internal controls over financial reporting when

determining the nature and extent of our procedures, our audit was not designed to provide assurance on

internal controls.

We performed procedures to assess whether the substance of business transactions was accurately reflected

in the financial report. These and our other procedures did not include consideration or judgement of the

appropriateness or reasonableness of the business plans or strategies adopted by the directors.

Independence

We are independent of the Association, and have met the independence requirements of Australian

professional ethical pronouncements.

Audit opinion

In our opinion, the financial report of the Western Australian Rugby Union (Inc.) presents fairly in

accordance with the accounting policies described in Note 1 to the financial statements, the financial position

of the Association as at 31 December 2005 and the results of its operations for the period then ended.

Ernst & Young

Perth

9 March 2006


RugbyWA acknowledges and sincerely thanks the following sponsors for their support and assistance during the 2005 season.

Sponsor Acknowledgements


RugbyWA acknowledges and sincerely thanks the following preferred suppliers

2005 RugbyWA Annual Report

Documents

Transcript of 2005 RugbyWA Annual Report