Earlier this year I opened a blog asking for your feedback on how the club can better engage with supporters and provide more for members.
The SGA has continued to meet on a bi-monthly basis to provide feedback and gain clarity on issues from the club.
A key point many raised here was around membership packs and how they're organised.
We had it clarified that the club enters a multi-year deal with a supplier and our current supplier is contracted for the 2026 season. The SGA has put forward a desire for the club to investigate other suppliers for 2027 onwards as there is a preference for a more flexible membership pack. Examples brought forward include other clubs and sports that offer a build your own membership pack that allows supporters to select exactly what goes into their pack to a certain dollar amount based on the level of their membership.
We will be discussing this in our next meeting in August.
There was feedback on this site about member access to the Centre of Excellence. The club is looking at making tours available during the off season but more planning is needed. Tours can't be held in-season due to the presence of football staff and therefore a lack of access to football areas. Expect more to come on this later this year.
We have had discussions about cheerleaders and their contribution to the club in the past. The club did say they would be looking into this later in 2025 and exploring some different options. The club was open to feedback that for some women cheerleading presented a way for them to support the club through their own passion, and was also receptive to the idea that perhaps it was a chance to look at greater involvement of local dance and cheer groups as part of community outreach. We'll be asking for an update at our next meeting.
At our August meeting we will be bringing forward a discussion on the 40th anniversary of the 1986 premiership. Next year is the anniversary. I felt our celebration of the 2021-23 anniversaries was lacking, partly due to COVID. With the club's renewed focus on recognising our past we will want to see a strong recognition of what was accomplished in 1986.
If you have any ideas or feedback you'd like me to bring to the next meeting please comment below or you can send me a message.
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Thanks NoS. So I can answer to an extent as we do get a little info regarding the football operations. The club has already begun refining both its talent ID and retention, specifically for our juniors. The recent extensions of Latu and Funa-luta are part of this change. The club is looking to lock up its top line junior talent long term, allowing these players to enter the NRL system and give the club the best opportunity for retaining them. They have a multi-year plan to ensure these players remain Eels for as long as we want them.
Having spoken to some of our NRL players, the CoE and current footballing department is apparently quite the draw for some recruits. For a few of the guys I spoke to, having a stand out facility was part of their decision to join the club alongside the clear plan the coaching staff have.
In terms of sought-after players as you put it, we didn't get much info on that, but in fairness it's really only been Galvin we were in for. At the end of the day we can't make the decision for him. I'd say the recruitment in the past 12 months has definitely improved and the club has acted more decisively in the open market.
Thanks heaps Super, that all sounds very positive.
Love the fact we are locking up junior talent long term & on our terms... Assume that was a reaction to Sanders & Talagi leaving?
The CoE sounds & looks like a huge drawcard. Very glad to hear we are showing that off to potential targets & that it was important for the players you spoke with. I do hope we are utulising it through the pitching process to talent, their agents, and their families.
Under the current Ryles regime, agree its only been Galvin (and losing Dylan Brown), so it's not fair to base previous misses on the same problems, that is a very good point.
I guess the concern is that while there are huge improvements under Ryles & co - JAC, Lomax, Williams, Walker, Iongi, Katouga are all fantastic signings - none of these guys were negotiating with other clubs, that we know?
But, to your point, if activity is increasing, and we are improving those systems, the next 6-12 months will be very interesting with the amount of cap available.
Thanks again for your detailed reply, much appreciated.
Just on junior retention Super.
Why doesn't the club make it so only long term contracted juniors are eligible for junior reps.
Being contracted is a prerequisite to be afforded the privileges of higher honours and the clubs resources that go with it.
Obviously no player is meant to have a player agent until they're 15 but we should be incorporating long term junior contracts in the best interests of the club.
With the club having an opportunity to release contracted players out on a loan basis if it suits both party's.
For too long we've given footballers and their managers a free ride and put them in shop windows where other clubs reap the benefits of the Eels investment .
No longer should we allow that to happen.
Super in all seriousness, the cheerleaders should never have been taken away. Has the club seen how successful some cheerleading groups are? The NFL for example shows what a skill and art the job actually is and I am not meaning a paying job either. Cheerleading is a sport and for some political reason it seems that is why they were taken away.
I would also like the club to expand as per Jim's comments on TCT last week, i relation to signing the younger brigade and more.
As for the membership and costs associated here, it does seem we are a little behind here in some respects and understand contracts cannot be cut short but the member pack we receive at home is avg to say the least; my kids wear the cap but the club needs to realise that people are not going to go 'wow' for a mediocre discount with fan gear; kids jerseys cost over $120 and I do not buy them. I only pay for the 4 game membership now as its becoming too expensive.
I will say the fan days are great and should be called out here as they were great for all to attend; my boy is also attending school holiday one at Kellyville so that is a positive here.
Quite simply any member pack should received higher discounts for merchandise and discounts on the ridiculous cost of the rubbish food being sold at the ground. My kids have one hotdog each and thats it, but as members they should receive a discount or voucher. You throw in parking / member tickets and oncosts of food / drink etc and its a joke. I say this year in year out - the kids bring the parents in and they need to subsidise it.
Thanks Mitch, we got further clarity on the decision to end the cheerleading program. I can't go into detail on it, but it was a necessary decision. Given it's now a few years down the track the club has signalled an interest in restarting it.
Super , I guess this flags an issue in itself. So they made a decision to end the program , but it's hush hush as to why ?
Whilst I'm not saying you're passing on incorrect information , I do question if it's so top secret , it's probably a bullshit cop-out that you were fed. Unless there's some kind of legal investigation going on, why shouldn't the fans be advised ?
My suspicions and I have heard it before and that is the concept is "politically incorrect" the new board did not want to go in any direction that could besmirch the clubs name any more than it had been.
You may remember me writing a blog on a Marching Band concept that would include all genders a couple of years back.
Remember the Titans......It could be that Parra could take the concept to another level. My understanding is the marching band is a competigive sport and the Leagues Club has a responsibility in promoting these type of community activities. The Leagues Club can pay for Uniforms and other overheads and make us stand out from the crowd.
There are a number of things that can be done and sponsored in this theme, "the academic club" i.e. providing scholarships and even adult education concepts.
How many kids can have ingrained in them "what team do you follow" Eels of course, they just put some books into our school library and are sponsoring school athletics.
The thing that need's to be understood Super in this whole concept is this group you are attending, are they doing it as a platitude or are they "fair dinkum" about making a difference.
Don't be afraid to throw some very direct questions at them saying they come from members, you don't have to put yourself in the firing line to do that.
Rabbitohs did the marching band thing, it was lame as fuck.
I reckon we could learn a thing or two about crowd work from the Big Bash. Their crowd engagement is great, and some teams have had mixed gender cheer squads which were awesome. Combined with their awesome big screen animation work, sound effects for certain passages of play, fire effects etc.
Always felt much more modern, family friendly and spectacular to me. Maybe our Thunder friends could help us out with some ideas and learnings.
I for one would resent more "hit and giggle" style crowd engagement theatrics....lt would wreck the live experience for me and make me cranky. I may even shake my fist at the sky on the way home
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