Mako staff share HP advice with Melbourne's sporting giants
The question is, can Mako fans expect to see head coach Leon MacDonald take on a more explosive persona in the coaches box this season?
MacDonald, assistant coach Shane Christie, Tasman Rugby Union chief executive Tony Lewis and commercial marketing manager Les Edwards spent five days in Melbourne last week to gain insights into the commercial, administrative and high-performance coaching operations from three of the city's big sporting brands.
As well as visiting the Melbourne Storm NRL side and the Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby team, the delegation also sought the wisdom of the St Kilda Saints AFL club and VFL club Williamstown.
The trip followed a similar venture to Brisbane in 2017, where the TRU toured the set-ups of the Brisbane Broncos (rugby league), Brisbane Heat (cricket), Firebirds (netball) and Queensland Reds (rugby union) franchises.
While the Tasman contingent was there to absorb information from their hosts, the work of the TRU was also discussed with their Australian counterparts.
"To take that next step up you need to learn from the best, but also share with the best because it's not just one-way traffic," Edwards said.
Mako assistant coach Shane Christie, left and Melbourne Storm welfare officer Andrew Blowers speak during a Storm training session. Mako head coach Leon MacDonald is at right with coaching staff from South African Super Rugby side, the Sharks.
"They don't know everything and they loved hearing from Shane and Leon, especially, given his past experience with the Crusaders and the success of the Mako .... [Tasman] have mana over there too."
MacDonald and Christie were able to engage with the Storm's high-performance group, which included head coach Craig Bellamy and welfare manager Andrew Blowers, a former Blues and All Black loose forward.
The pair also attended a team training session and were invited to sit in on the team's review of their round two 8-10 loss to the West Tigers as well as preparations for the following week's match against the North Queensland Cowboys, which they won 30-14.
"It was good to hear from [Bellamy] after a loss instead of a win because he did get stuck into his boys and basically re-emphasised their mantra, which was around simplicity and execution," Edwards said.
The Tasman delegation was invited to a sit-down lunch with the coaching teams of the Storm and the South African-based Sharks Super Rugby team, who were in town to play the Rebels.
Time with the Rebels - who share their AAMI Park high-performance facilities with the Storm - saw MacDonald compare notes with 35-year-old head coach David Wessels, who has held coaching roles within the Western Force and Cape Town-based Stormers teams.
"For Leon to be able to talk with Wessels was very worthwhile - they're both young and ambitious."
Tasman Mako head coach Leon MacDonald, right, takes a few pointers from Sharks coach Robert du Preez
Tapping into the wisdom of other codes, the Tasman delegation also visited St Kilda's new $30 million club facilities in the suburb of Moorabbin.
They also met with the coaching staff of the Williamstown VFL club, which Edwards said drew many parallels with Tasman in terms of developing pathways for aspiring players.
"Player welfare is definitely front and centre with a lot of these organisations, as it is with us," he said.
"The AFL draft is very much a youth identification project which is what our academy is ... these guys at Williamstown end up with about five guys that get drafted by the AFL so it's really tough if you haven't been identified at a young age, but there still is that opportunity – what it says to me is that community clubs are important because those gold nuggets do come through."
"What we have to keep an eye on is our own club scene because there's always a gem that comes through – two years ago it was Jesse Pitman who became a Mako on the back of outstanding form for Wanderers and last year we had Ethan Blackadder."
Edwards said the trip was not only beneficial from a coaching and player management perspective but also in terms of finding out how the franchises manage their fan membership.
He said the TRU was keen to keep Mako home games full beyond 2018 and an unprecedented increase in season ticket purchases from fans looking to ensure a seat at September's All Black test.
