New club owners eye top eight
Warriors chairman Rob Croot insists the expectations for the club next year are to make the top-eight finals.
But before the club’s longsuffering fans throw up their arms and say ‘here we go again’, they should be optimistic about the board pulling in the same direction, and the Warriors having ownership to financially back the NRL team.
Eric Watson’s interest wavered during his years of owning the Warriors, while being based in London meant he was never going to be hands-on.
The joint venture between the Carlaw Heritage Trust and Autex was a car crash right from the beginning, but at last there’s stability and a clear vision coming from Croot and club owner Mark Robinson.
Croot and Robinson, both longtime Warriors’ supporters, understand the pain their fans have gone through.
‘‘The Warriors’ fans are the most passionate in New Zealand and it’s been difficult over the last 16 months to have to sit back, and not so much be the fans that we are,’’ Croot said.
‘‘We’re as disappointed as the fans and the members, we read their comments, and we’re right there with them.
‘‘We’re passionate people and we wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t believe we could make a difference in the club and build a sustainable, high performance future.
‘‘Let’s be clear on expectations, we’re playing finals football next season.’’
Autex didn’t buy the Warriors outright as a money making venture. No one buys an NRL club for that reason, they’re doing it because they want to make the club successful, can see the untapped potential, and are prepared to invest.
‘‘Unless you’re like the [Brisbane] Broncos and getting over 20,000 to every game, you’re never going to make any money,’’ Robinson said.
‘‘But if you’ve got an international business like we have and this is under that umbrella, we can write that off against our profits. Carlaw Heritage Trust can’t write it off because they’re a non-profit organisation.’’
Robinson doesn’t intend to be standing in the background as key decisions are made, and already has plans to revamp some of Mt Smart Stadium.
‘‘I’m going to be a bit more hands-on than most at the beginning, because I know what I want and I’m going to talk to people about that,’’ he said.
‘‘I employ Cameron George as the CEO and his focus will be on running the club.
‘‘But I want to get involved in some of the decisions and I want to do the offices up, do the changing rooms up, get them all looking good so we’ve got a nice environment, not one that’s been there for 10 years.
‘‘We need to get rid of the old and bring in the new. Some new gym equipment, better recovery equipment which they haven’t been able to afford, and we’ll start there.’’
Robinson says he’d also like to have an input in football decisions.
‘‘I’d like to see who they’re going to sign before they do, which I think is fair,’’ he said.
‘‘They’ll need to tell me why it’s a good idea and if that’s what they all believe in, then that’s what we do.
‘‘But I’d like to know if they’re going to sign a $600,000 player and what the conditions and terms are, because at the end of the day it’s my money.’’
Robinson is also looking to end the continual problem the club has of not being able to attract top Australian players.
It’s been an ongoing issue that players in their prime, unless they’re Kiwis, don’t want to relocate to Auckland.
‘‘We’ve got to get this club attractive to get some people to want to play for us,’’ Robinson said.
‘‘It’s not that attractive at the moment, so we’ve got to settle it down, get the place cleaned up, so when you have players looking around our facilities, you’re looking professional and you want everything upbeat.
‘‘Once you start doing that, you will find that when you do approach someone, you’ve got a chance of them coming to you.
‘‘At the moment, we’re getting either inexperienced good talent, or end-of-the-road experience, like Adam Blair and Blake Green, who are in their 30s.
‘‘We are missing out on the 24-to-28-year-olds, when they’re starting to peak.
‘‘We haven’t been able to attract them because the way the club is, the condition it’s in and the environment that’s been there, with Eric Watson and our thing [with Carlaw Heritage Trust].
‘‘We didn’t help, but it just didn’t work out, we were so different.
‘‘But if we don’t change our environment, we’re not going to attract any players.’’
‘‘I’d like to know if they’re going to sign a $600,000 player and what the conditions and terms are, because at the end of the day it’s my money.’’ New Warriors owner Mark Robinson