Rugby burned into Paddy’s genes!
LAST Thursday the Dubbo Roos coaching staff for 2018 conducted a season review at our major sponsors the Commercial Hotel.
I had planned the review four weeks out to come together with the Dubbo Roos coaching staff to look at what occurred over the season and the results, or lack thereof, that we achieved.
This just so happened to take place on the night that many parts of the state were receiving their highest recording for rainfall this year. Many had gone a lot longer without rain; since moving back to Dubbo on January 1, it was the most I’d seen, and the irony was not lost on me that we happened to be reviewing our dry rugby season on this very wet night.
Our rugby season was dry this year, which was something that we did not expect internally and the expectations externally were just as high. Not one premiership PADDY Burns from Trangie has rugby blood flowing through his veins!
His grandfather Alan Burns was a stalwart of the Trangie Tigers and indeed the entire community and the sporting oval is named in his honour; his other grandad, Ed Colless, is equally well known in the Walgett area, especially amongst the Rams flock.
Both late pops would have been gushing, along with the grandmothers and Paddy’s parents, when the flying NSW Under-15s Emerging Blues winger crossed for the state’s only in the senior club, a Colts team that definitely should have won, but lost to the better team on the day, and a first grade that didn’t make the semis at all – a very tough pill to swallow for such a proud club like the Dubbo Roos. There’s no point sugar coating or making excuses. We all learned a lot.
As I walked out of the pub after the review I thought to myself how many in the agricultural sector are “reviewing” their season? For a few this rain could hopefully mean the end of the drought, time will tell that, and as always, some will be more fortunate than others.
Have the farmers stopped, assessed, reviewed and planned for the next ‘season’? What would they change or implement before the next drought?
Some of the questions and areas we addressed in our season review try in the national final last weekend.
NSW finished runners up to Queensland, going down 17-5 but the lad who split his time between the Narromine Gorillas (rugby) and Jets (league) before heading off to St Joseph’s College, got the Blues' only points in the dying minutes.
Paddy’s potential had been well and truly recognised in his time at St Augustine's when he made the Catholic Primary Schools’ Polding teams for both codes. He was chosen in the City sides to play Country in both 14s and 15s before being selected in the NSW team this year. were:
What did we do well? As coaches? As a club? As individual coaches and leaders? And in terms of training.
What could we have done better in all of these areas? This is a question that too often business powers or people in the top positions are not willing to ask of those within their organisation or themselves.
What would need to be changed and implemented for next season to give the club the best chance of reaching its potential?
I can’t stress enough the importance of doing regular reviewing and the benefits, when done properly, that this can bring to a business or organisation. We all walked away having a clearer idea of what needed to be done, what should or could have been done better, but also what we did well – there’s no point always being hard on yourself if you aren’t willing to acknowledge those things that are being done well. Again this is an all-too-common occurrence with leaders in businesses and organisations; they’re quick to point out what needs to be done or improved but rarely give praise.
So what should those in the Ag industry be asking?
What did we do well to minimise the effect of the drought?
What could we have done better?
What will we implement to prepare ourselves better for the next one?
I’ve noticed that those who are successful and at the top of their game, irrespective of what field they are in – military, medical, business, sports, ANY – are always looking at ways to improve and get better.
Now that I’m out of the professional rugby world, one of the major differences I’ve seen between the professional sports and the ‘real world’ is the lack of reviewing. As professional teams and athletes, we review every game, every season, win or lose... We reviewed every training session.
It must be remembered we are always one day closer to rain and one day closer to drought.
••• z Beau Robinson is an Action Coach Business Coach and former Super Rugby Champion and Wallaby. beaurobinson@actioncoach.com