‘No excuses’: the Warriors’ new mantra
Two words are set to define Cameron George’s tenure as Warriors CEO, ‘no excuses.’
The Australian officially took over the day to day running of the club last week and his office at Mt Smart Stadium is still lacking any home comforts or personal items, but that’s perhaps an indicator of how much he’s thrown himself into his new job.
He was on the board at the Warriors for a couple of years and in May became the club’s chief operating officer, but with Jim Doyle moving on to become Warriors chairman, George takes his old role and does so at a time where the club are about to embark on a review of another disappointing season.
Having worked at the Warriors for the past four months, George has his views on what’s gone right and wrong, but wants to wait for the review to be complete before making changes.
But don’t anyone think the review is going to be a once-overlightly affair, where bad luck and injuries are blamed for results and the drop in attendances is put down to bad weather.
‘‘In the short time I’ve been involved in the business, internally we’re operating extremely well in terms of achieving good results off the field,’’ George said.
‘‘Naturally, everyone’s view of the club is that we’re failing and rightly so, because of the football results this year.
‘‘I do have some views that will be proven right or wrong, once review period is concluded.
‘‘Until then, it wouldn’t be proper of me to enforce those in an immediate sense, but what I can assure the staff and people that support the club, is that what needs to change will change.
‘‘It’s just a matter of ensuring I give the people an opportunity to prove or discuss any failings that have occurred in the last 12 months, prior to me enforcing any change.’’
For some-long suffering Warriors fans, this season has been the most disappointing of all.
They had the roster to make the top eight, but as the results continued We’re a football club and we need to win. a to go against them, spirits dropped and for the last couple of games at Mt Smart Stadium have been depressing experiences. It’s never been harder to be a Warriors fan and George acknowledges they have to win back the trust and belief of their fans.
‘‘Absolutely we do,’’ he says emphatically. ‘‘There is a lot of hard work that has to go into that mandate, but there is only one thing that’s going to make that happen and it’s winning.
‘‘We need to have an environment at the club that doesn’t accept excuses.’’
George comes from Casino, in rural New South Wales, about two and a half hours away from the Gold Coast. It calls itself the beef capital of Australia and the most famous person from there is Jeff from the Wiggles.
But it’s also a place that’s mad about league, which is how he picked up his love for the sport.
He moved to New Zealand in 2006, working in the integrity sector of horse racing and was CEO of Auckland Racing Club before moving onto the Warriors.
Emma, his partner, is expecting their first child this week, so it’s a busy time all round for George.
However, is enthusiasm and drive appears unrelenting.
What George says next, when asked about how much bad weather for so many of their home games affected attendances, should give Warriors supporters optimism about what he will bring to the club and that better days are ahead.
‘‘I don’t enjoy working in environments where everyone has an excuse for what has occurred,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re a football club and we need to win.
‘‘We need to enforce professionalism and we need to ensure that the event we put on, on a football day caters for all of our fans, members and sponsors.
‘‘In doing so, we understand we’re in a venue where if it rains it will be uncomfortable, but we have to ensure mechanisms are in place to combat that if possible.
‘‘There are no excuses across this organisation going forward.’’