2011 ANNUAL REPORT

As our mantra states “On and off the Field” and some positive work was undertaken in both areas through 2011 to support development and our clubs. While there were some challenging issues faced by the Board, the ARL administration and clubs, the game continued to progress in target areas with the Board still in a position to maintain current levels of financial support by way of subsidies or incentives.

On the field there were highs and lows, highs certainly being the breaking the 500 club team barrier (529), the continuation of our partnership with Maori Television for the broadcast of the Appliance Shed Fox Memorial, our most successful Premiership Grand Final Day in a number of year’s both in attendance, awareness and standard together with the success of the Auckland Vulcan’s in making the Grand Final of the NSW Cup. The season low was certainly the frustrations experienced by continual ground closures due to the inclement weather, not only did this impact on Saturday play but it had a major effect on our primary and intermediate schools programme participation. The problem however is a whole of winter sport issue and highlighted the varying standards of grounds for all grass sports throughout the new Auckland City. While social network mediums certainly highlighted grassroots frustration, there is no easy and quick solution with rugby league grounds alone needing an estimated $20 million capital improvement investment. The ARL was proactive in engagement with the 21 new Local Boards that make up the City and work will continue throughout 2012 and beyond to support the clubs to ensure rugby league and club facilities improvement is to the forefront of each of the respective Community Plans.

Another key project in 2011 was the review by an Independent Panel on the governance structure of the ARL. This in part was as a result of the 2010 mediation outcome between NZRL and ARL. Key review recommendations resulted in a new Board of Directors structure to contain 2 independently appointed Directors, a new Constitution and updated By-Laws together with a new Football Committee structure to replace the Junior and Senior Management Committee. The constitution and governance structure had not been reviewed in detail for 20 years and now reflects a more modern approach to governance and administration. The new Independent Directors will be announced at the Annual General Meeting.

2011 also marked major milestones for 3 clubs with Manukau and Otahuhu celebrating centennials and Howick celebrating their 50th jubilee. Congratulations to all three clubs.

SPONSORS & FUNDING PARTNERS

The economic environment and an increasingly competitive pool for the sponsorship dollar is a reality especially at our level of the profile chain. While ARL continue to be creative and maximise all opportunities with our partners and potential partners it is a difficult environment. ARL are fortunate that approx 60% of its revenue is self-funded through the legacy of . This allows the Board to do more for its clubs by way or direct or in- direct support easing their financial pressures. As I presented at the November Conference, our clubs on the whole pay no more that $800.00 in annual registration or user pays levies in comparison to fellow District League member clubs. For example a club the size of Manurewa with 50 plus teams only pay $800.00 yet if they were a Canterbury District League club they would be paying in excess of $20,000.00 per annum on top of other on chargeable programmes.

ARL are fortunate to have a loyal and valued group of partners that enable the game to continue to deliver and support. It is important that we collectively as a game support those who support our game. I would sincerely acknowledge and thank APPLIANCE SHED, LION RED, MAORI TELEVISION, MANDRON MASONRY, SAS SPORT, TEGEL, KONICA MINOLTA, UPRIGTH ACCESS, CROWN LIFT TRUCKS, X-SPORT, HUBBARDS FOODS, SMOKEFREE AND SCHOOLTRAVEL.CO.NZ for their support in 2011.

While the funding industry is also feeling the economic realities of the recession, funding organisations continued to believe in and support the work undertaken by the through its football programmes and the Clubs of Auckland concept. It is no easy task and a significant amount of work is undertaken in each presentation to Trusts. The Trusts who supported ARL believed in our programmes and the work we as a sport and organisation do in our wide ranging community. To this end I would sincerely thank The Lion Foundation, Infinity Foundation, Four Winds Foundation, North and South Trust, Nautilus Foundation, Trillian Trust, The Southern Trust, NZ Community Trust, First Sovereign Foundation and Pub Charity.

CARLAW HERITAGE TRUST

The Carlaw Heritage Trust (CHT) is the legacy of the Auckland game and its future. The proceeds of the sale of Carlaw Park are held in the CHT and is an entirely separate legal entity from ARL Inc. As stated in previous Annual Reports, while the assets are held in the Trust, the annual grants received by ARL Inc and any of its subsidiaries are for accounting purposes required to be treated as a repayment of the loan as opposed to being treated as direct grant income. While the economic recession has had a major impact on forecast trust income due to the retirement village development not proceeding and therefore annual ground rental payments not being received, the trustees (Cameron McGregor, Steve Brewster, Alan Gore, Bruce Cameron and Denham Shale) have worked diligently on alternative options and will shortly be in a position to formally announce new plans in partnership with the developer for the old No 1 ground property still owned by the trust. In 2011 the trustees continued to be very supportive maintaining existing levels of funding to both ARL Inc and the RL Development Foundation. This support enabled continuation of programmes and retention of the valuable support incentives to clubs such as the youth team payments, weekend referees payments, club registration and affiliation fee rebates, club audit subsidies, ground user charges, regional representative team subsidies together with continued support of administrative operations. While this has seen a depletion of capital reserves in the short term, the medium to long term forecast once the proposed development commences will see utilised capital replaced and steady capital growth in the medium to long term together with the ability to increase current grant levels.

PREMIERSHIPS

The pressure was on the 16 Appliance Shed Fox Memorial Qualification Series clubs from Round 1 with 2011 the last year under the current format. While the 8 qualifiers were guaranteed a position in the new 10 team Fox Premiership in 2012, the two remaining spots were filled by the 2011 SAS Sharman Cup Grand Final teams, Pt Chevalier and Bay Roskill. For the Sharman Cup, the remaining 6 clubs automatically qualified for the 2012 and are joined by the top 4 placed teams from the 2011 Mandron Masonry Phelan Shield - New Lynn, Papatoetoe, Otara and Ellerlslie.

2 As part of the ongoing development of the premiership, our partnership with Maori Television was expanded to the broadcasting of both rounds of the Fox Memorial and the play-off series. As in 2010, the games were taken to club grounds to promote in the club community. While this was of benefit and well received, the quality of club grounds particularly in the second round did affect the standard of play due to the weather. A decision was made that the semi finals play-off games as opposed to the highest qualifier would be allocated to the best possible ground available because of the unavailability of Mt Smart No 2 or other Auckland stadiums due to Rugby World Cup contractual commitments. While the decision was met with some angst in certain quarters, it was the right decision and the quality of play was of a very high standard and projected well on television. The partnership was again a significant investment by both Maori Television and ARL with the Fox still the only grassroots sport in New Zealand with this level of free to air coverage. I am pleased to confirm that our partnership with Maori Television will continue in 2012 with the broadcast of the second round of the Fox Memorial and a new specific weekly show focusing solely on the premiership and local football.

Appliance Shed Fox Memorial Qualifiers: SAS Sharman Cup Qualifiers:

1. 2. Bay Roskill Vikings 3. Pt Chevalier Pirates 4. 5. Otara Scorpions 6. Richmond Bulldogs 7. Mt Albert Lions Manuaku Magpies 8. East Coast Bays Barracudas

Top 4 Qualifiers:

1. Howick Hornets 2. Otahuhu Leopards 3. Glenora Bears 4. Mt Albert Lions

Minor Premiership: Howick Hornets (Rukatai Shield) Minor Finals:

Howick Hornets: 30 Otahuhu Leopards: 22 Glenora Bears: 24 Mt Albert Lions: 18

Mt Albert Lions were eliminated. Howick Hornets went directly to the Grand Final.

Major Final:

Otahuhu Leopards: 36 Glenora Bears: 12

Glenora Bears were eliminated.

APPLIANCE SHED FOX MEMORIAL GRAND FINAL:

Howick Hornets: 24 Otahuhu Leopards: 14

3 Grand Final Day brought back memories of yesteryear with the League taking a major gamble in playing the Grand Finals on Mt Smart No 1 and it was not disappointed with one of the largest Grand Final crowds seen in a decade. It was truly a fairy tale ending and an outstanding season for Howick Hornets taking out the Fox and the Rukatai for the first time in their history as well as celebrating their 50th Jubilee. While disappointed in their loss in their Centennial Year, Otahuhu Leopards can be proud of the efforts of their premiers who only just qualified for the Fox Memorial in the final 2 minutes of the last game of Grading Round qualification.

SAS SHARMAN CUP:

Minor Premiers: Pt Chevalier Pirates

Minor Finals:

Pt Chevalier Pirates: 38 Bay Roskill Vikings: 20 Mangere East Hawks: 19 Te Atatu Roosters: 16

Te Atatu Roosters were eliminated. Pt Chevalier Pirates went directly to the Grand Final.

Major Final:

Bay Roskill Vikings: 14 Mangere East Hawks: 10

SAS SHARMAN CUP GRAND FINAL:

Pt Chevalier Pirates: 24 Bay Roskill Vikings: 16

A memorable final with Pt Chevalier continuing their fairy tale rise from the bottom of the Phelan Shield in 2009 to Fox Memorial qualification in 2012. For Bay Roskill although bridesmaids for the second consecutive year, they also qualified for the 2012 Fox Memorial.

MANDRON MASONRY PHELAN SHIELD

Minor Premiership: Papatoetoe Panthers

Minor Finals:

New Lynn Stags: 34 Papatoetoe Pirates: 10 : 18 Glenfield Greyhounds: 13

Glenfield Greyhounds were eliminated, New Lynn Stags went direct to the Grand Final.

Major Final:

Papatoetoe Panthers: 46 Ellerslie Eagles: 04

MANDRON MASONRY PHELAN SHIELD GRAND FINAL:

New Lynn Stags: 32 Papatoetoe Panthers: 30

4 A Grand Final that set the tone for the day with the results see-sawing throughout the game with New Lynn Stags securing the trophy with 2 minutes remaining on the clock. As Grand Finalists, both teams have qualified for the 2012 Sharman Cup Premiership.

FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT

2011 saw significant changes within the dynamics and direction of the Football Development Department. In early February Brian “Bluey” McClennan returning from a very successful tenure with Leeds Rhinos and took up the vacant position as Football Development Manager. Brian has a passion for grassroots and soon made his presence felt implementing a number of key support programmes to complement existing programmes. Unfortunately Bluey’s tenure ended earlier than anticipated when he was appointed the coach for 2012/13 and we wish him continued success. In October long serving Development Officer Keith Hanley also left to pursue other rugby league options. I would like to acknowledge the contribution of both men during their time with the ARL and the support they gave to all. In late 2012 former Kiwis and Warriors (both also captains of their country and club) Duane Mann and Stacey Jones were appointed, Duane as Football Development Manager and Stacey as a Development Officer. 2012 will see the Department start the season at full capacity with Duane able to be heavily involved in the 2012 season planning and implementation strategy.

Schools, club support and our representative programmes continued to be a major strategy focus to support growing the game. The age old “school/club linkage” was still problematic but significant inroads continued to be made as the positive perception of rugby league on communities continued to increase.

Listed are some key activities and outcomes of the Department that were achieved through 2011:

SCHOOLS PROGRAMME:

Secondary Schools:

In continued partnership with College Sport, the Football Development Department (FDD) continued to run the Auckland wide secondary schools competition and a specific secondary schools North Harbour competition. In 2011 the Auckland wide competition was split into two sections, Auckland and Counties/Manukau with the winner of each section playing off for the Auckland District championship title. For the first time in many years St Paul’s domination of the 1st XIII competition ended with Otahuhu College crowned the new champions. While constantly under review, the games continued to be played at school grounds every Wednesday afternoon during the Secondary Schools Association allocated playing window of April to July. With more on the ground resource, particularly with Counties/Manukau Zone having a designated Development Officer to work in the school community, it is anticipated that competition participation will increase in 2012.

The North Harbour Competition saw an almost 100% increase in team participation numbers although issues with the commencement of school holidays saw Glenfield College unable to field a team in the Premier 15 Grand Final. ARL have been working with College Sport and the Principles Association on identified issues for 2012.

5 Auckland Champions Grand Final Results:

Premier 1st XIII University Shield Otahuhu College 18 Mt Albert Grammar 02 College A under 85kgs St Paul’s College 18 Aoere College 10 Under 15 9 a side Aoere College 30 St Paul’s College 12 Girls 1st XIII Tamaki College 16 McAuley High 12

North Harbour Secondary Schools Grand Final Results:

Premier 1st XIII Massey High 38 Westlake Boys 08 Premier Restricted Maharangi High 40 Birkenhead College 12 Premier 15 Open Westlake High 42 Northcote College 10 Premier 15 Rest Northcote College WBD Glenfield College LBD

Participation data for the last 4 seasons:

Grade 2008 2009 2010 2011 Premier First XIII 07 14 15 14 College A Under 85kg 07 07 08 08 Under 15 9-a-side 11 10 13 08 Girls (13 a side) 06 06 North Harbour First XIII 08 07 North Harbour Premier Rest 06 10 North Harbour 15 Rest 02 07 North Harbour 15 Open 06 Total 25 31 58 66

The continual council ground closures played a major role and severely impacted on final Intermediate and Primary School Tournament participation numbers. In a number of cases even the Saver Days programmed in for this possibility were required to be cancelled and because out of window alternatives where not suitable for some schools, attendance numbers were therefore depleted when they were able to be held.

Intermediate Schools:

The intermediate schools programme continued to be run in zones or conferences. This programme is one of the areas where ground closures had the biggest impact on in 2011.

Zone/Conference 2008 2009 2010 2011 Counties 09 teams 14 teams 16 teams 15 teams Southern 16 teams 14 teams 16 teams 09 teams Eastern 06 teams 13 teams 09 teams 10 teams Central 12 teams 14 teams 18 teams 08 teams Western 20 teams 20 teams 19 teams 10 teams Northern 07 teams 15 teams 16 teams 9 teams Girls 18 teams 11 teams TOTAL 70 90 112 72

6 The tournaments were again run in two divisions, open weight and under 55kgs. The two division’s grand final winners then attend an Auckland wide Grand Finals Day where they compete to become Auckland wide champions.

In addition to the tournament, the FDD continue to conduct visits to the schools delivering coaching clinics on the basic skills and fundamentals of rugby league and it’s on and off field opportunities. Intermediate Kiwi League Tag one day Tournaments are also run across Auckland in November.

Primary Schools:

Mirroring the intermediate schools programme the zonal/conference tournaments continued to be run. Again the ground closures impacted on final participation numbers with the same issues incurred by the FDD as the intermediate schools programme.

Zone/Conference 2008 2009 2010 2011 Counties 22 teams 16 teams 25 teams 14 teams Southern 8 teams 13 teams 15 teams 12 teams Eastern 4 teams Cancelled 1 team 7 teams Central 7 teams 7 teams 1 team 4 teams Western 9 teams 14 teams 4 teams 4 teams Northern 4 teams 8 teams 5 teams 4 teams TOTAL 43 58 51 45

These tournaments are run in two divisions, open weight and under 45kg’s. As per the intermediate schools programme the two section winners in each zone/conference attend the Auckland wide Grand Finals Day. On top of this the FDD also conduct school visits delivering the same programmes as outlined in the intermediate schools programme section.

CLUB DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT:

Club Visits:

The FDD continued to offer its services to all clubs to assist with training and support sessions to compliment the various programmes offered or implemented. Some clubs or team coaches utilised regularly and this support was well received.

Club Development Officers:

Again to ensure information on all programmes flowed down to club team officials, clubs were requested to nominate a designated Club Development Officer who then becomes an additional link for all development issues on behalf of their club and ensure important liaison between their teams and programme’s on offer. In 2011, 28 of our 32 clubs made these appointments and while some were for varying reasons some were able to commitment more time, the work and the support they gave the ARL and their club team officials was invaluable.

7 Club Courses:

A diverse range of courses were again run in 2011 to support and up-skill all areas of volunteer administration. The FDD and Administration Departments worked closely together to develop and deliver where required. In respect to Coaching Courses, major changes were implemented by to current coaching pathway levels and requirements including the new compulsory fundamental coaching licenses which all coaches must hold to be able to coach at club level. The FDD are working through an implementation strategy to support.

The Courses on offer included:

Senior Club Coaching Course.

This course is run over three days and participants must have held their IG Certificate for 2 years to become eligible. In 2011 29 undertook the course. From 2013, it will be compulsory for all premier and premier 1st coaches to hold this certification.

International Games:

The International Games Course is for coaches coaching from Under 13’s upwards (International Grades). The course is run over 1 or 2 days. In 2011, 52 attained this qualification.

Modified Games

The Modified Games course is for coaches coaching from Under 6’s to under 12’s (Mini and Mod Educational Grades). 2011 saw 137 newly qualified coaches enter the system.

From 2012 the new NZRL Course structure will see implementation of the Beginner Senior Coaching Course for new international football coaches and the Beginner Youth Coaching Course for new educational grade coaches.

Managers Courses:

The entire Managers Course structure is under review by NZRL and unfortunately was not able to be completed and rolled out for 2011. Accordingly where requested the ARL administration ran the old Level 1 format to assist them in their roles.

Administration Courses:

Again various Club Administration Courses were continued to be offered. These courses were free to support new and existing volunteer club administrators in fulfilling their roles. While the courses are not compulsory they are designed to support club administrators in while generic in some content, a key focus is ARL regulation understanding and delivery. It is important for a club that their key officials do avail themselves of these opportunities as they are the conduit for their teams and need to know key regulations for the support of their clubs and teams.

8 Mini and Mod Referees Courses:

While 160 people undertook this course in 2011, transposing into regular weekly involvement is still a major issue. As part of the NZRL game plan, NZRL now has a greater and designated focus on the development of referees and have implemented a number of new structured systems which complement our development pathways to move this area of the game. 2012 will see more focus and combined development strategies between the ARL Referees Development Officer and the ARL Referees Association.

Participation numbers were:

2009 2010 2011

Central Zone: 08 18

Western Zone: 16 29

Southern Zone: 24 81 participants over the 6 designated zones

Northern Zone: 10 6

Southern Zone: 12 8

Eastern Zone: 08

SENZ Academy 20 24

Best Pacific Sports Institute 19 20

Village Sports Academy 24 55

TOTAL PARTICIPANTS 78 144 160

REPRESENTATIVE FOOTBALL

The NZRL continued in the 15, 17 and Premier grade’s and was played over 1 round post club season. Again it was played in the 7 zone format with teams known as Northern Swords, Auckland Pride, Counties/Manuaku Stingrays, Waicoa Bay Stallions, Central Vipers, Wellington Orcas and Southern Scorpions. Auckland Rugby League undertook all the teams and competition operations for the Auckland Pride as well as supporting Counties/Manukau where required however they had their own administration resource. It was all Auckland District Finals with Auckland Pride defeating Counties/Manukau Scorpions in the 3 grades for the national titles.

On the local scene, the league continued its phase-in of the Regional Representative Programme expanding it into the 13, 14 and 16 age groups following the introduction in 2010 of the 18 and 20 grades. As part of the strategy initiative, at the conclusion of the 3 match series Auckland Merit representative teams were selected in each age group along with a coach, manager and trainer. The success of the concept as an example saw 6 players in the 16’s make the New Zealand 16 team, a situation that would not have occurred if it had not been for the regional programme. The concept of the regional programme is to create representative opportunities and pathways for players and team officials from within their age group/grade and in keeping some of our history, the respective trophies for each grade are the plaques made from the wood of the old Railway Stand at Carlaw Park. In 2012 the programme expands into the OAR and Premier 2nd grades. A

9 strategy review will be undertaken through 2012 as to the most effective way to implement into the women’s grades given their national programme is held over Queens Birthday weekend.

Regional 20’s Results:

Regional 1: Northern: 28 Southern: 24 Regional 2: Southern: 28 Northern: 24 Regional 3: Northern: 16 Southern: 12

Regional 18’s Results:

Regional 1: Northern: 18 Southern: 16 Regional 2: Southern: 20 Northern: 18 Regional 3: Southern: 54 Northern: 12

Regional 16’s Results:

Regional 1: Southern: 44 Northern: 18 Regional 2: Southern: 36 Northern: 16 Regional 3: Southern: 24 Northern: 22

Regional 14’s Results:

Regional 1: Northern: 22 Southern: 12 Regional 2: Northern: 16 Southern: 16 Regional 3: Southern: 18 Northern: 16

Regional 13’s Results:

Regional 1: Northern: 30 Southern: 12 Regional 2: Northern: 38 Southern: 04 Regional 3: Southern: 10 Northern: 08

The Programme was a significant investment by the League and will continue to grow as an important development pathway not only for players and officials, but referees.

Best & Fairest Gala Days:

Probably the best example of the weather situation last year and the continual closure of grounds saw all scheduled Gala Days cancelled due to these closures. For all involved this was extremely disappointing and a significant amount of planning and organisation went into each event.

JETS (Junior Educational Training System)

At the end of 2010 the JETS Programme underwent a comprehensive review and was not run in 2011. From 2012 this will now be a comprehensive live-in weekend programme to be run each March. The target age group is the 13-15 year old grade and is designed to also involve appointed regional representative staff. At the time of writing this report the programme was on target to be a full house with approx 100 players registered to attend.

REFEREES

Referees play a vital role in all sport. The game would struggle without them. Again the ARL invested heavily in the referee’s area continuing to meet all competition match payments to

10 take the pressure off clubs and team officials. The Referees Association worked tirelessly to meet the games growth which added further pressure to Appointees Alan Caddy and Dave McLeod who found some weeks frustrating however the majority of weekly international games received coverage. A big thank you to all referee’s. On a side issue it is pleasing to observe the number of young men and women beginning to take up the whistle and with the varying levels of pathways now in place through club competition, the Regional Representative Programme, the National Zone Competition, the Toyota Cup U/20’s, the NSW Cup through the Auckland Vulcan’s and the Fox Memorial with televised games, pathway opportunity is now there for them although a problem continues to be sideline abuse, a critical factor in their retention.

ADMINISTRATION

In February 2011 the ARL administration moved to new headquarters at 17 Beasley Ave opposite Mt Smart and adjacent to Mt Smart No 2. While our joint tenure with NZRL at Rugby League House was beneficial, it outgrew our needs and they needed more space to meet their growing needs as the National Game Plan grew.

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE’S

As mentioned earlier in this report the Senior and Junior Management Committees as a result of the review have been replaced by one Football Committee with a number a support sub-committees established in key areas. A major outcome of this restructure is that there will now be consistent decision making and planning from the U/6 grade to premiers.

In 2011 the Board again fully funded all operational and key programme requirements of both Management Committees to allow them full concentration on the administration of their respective grades. The ARL administration again organised the SMC Finals weekend and assisted the JMC in their weekend.

Having been around when the ARL last structured to implement the SMC and JMC I would sincerely thank the committees. Over the years members fulfilled a vital volunteer and support role to the clubs and teams with at times little appreciation for the difficult role they undertook. These committees only ever seem to address the weekly complaints and only 50% of the time their decisions were deemed fair, funnily always the recipient of a positive outcome. Again thank you and I am pleased to advise that the majority of members applied and were appointed to varying roles in the new structure to ensure that experience and retention of that direct support to club team officials.

CLUBS OF AUCKLAND

Again the Clubs of Auckland continued to be of major support to our clubs with the supply of gear and equipment along with a number of individual club specific needs that would not have been possible if not for this concept. Clubs of Auckland is about additional assistance where possible to the clubs on top of the subsidies/incentives able to be delivered by Inc. In 2011 support was able to be procured for 20 of the clubs whom sort assistance. In 3 years just on $730,000.00 has gone directly into the clubs. I would like to acknowledge the tremendous support of the various Trusts and their trustee’s who believe in this concept.

11 ZONES

Auckland Zone (to be known as Akarana):

The ARL delivered all support capability for the Zone which also included their Roots and Hearts Camps, Representative Competition and NZRL requirements. While on paper I held the title of Zone General Manager, increasing NZRL initiative output requirements and time commitments meant this had to be reviewed. I officially ended this roll at the conclusion of the National Club Competition. To maximise resources ARL and the Zone are finalising a Memorandum of Understanding enabling them to focus on-off field development initiatives to clubs as defined in the Mediation Agreement and to ensure no overlapping and maximise resource opportunities. 2012 will see the zone under its Strategic Plan employ a Community Development Manger to drive this strategic direction once signed off by the Board with member clubs.

Counties/Manukau Zone:

The ARL administration worked closely with their new General Manager to maximise delivery capability and support programmes.

NZRL

Clear and concise strategic direction from New Zealand Rugby League is the major reason for the progress of the game through-out the country and this has been invaluable to the work able to be undertaken in Auckland. Certainly the perception of rugby league has changed and is fast gaining the respect that it deserves. We worked closely with the NZRL and I would sincerely acknowledge Jim Doyle and his entire team. In particular I would like to thank Kevin Bailey. Kevin has officially retired from fulltime administration and over the years whatever the difficulties the games administration had been going through was always a steadying influence with his valuable support and advice. Thank you Kevin. The future looks exciting with many new and exciting initiatives to be rolled out by NZRL .

MOVING FORWARD IN 2012

In some respects 2012 is the start of a new book with a new governance direction, the roll out of new programmes/systems along with maintaining current programme standards and the new Board of Directors and Football Committee gets its feet under the table. There will be teething problems however a significant amount of planning and detail went into ensuring business as usual with minimal disruption for clubs, players and volunteer officials.

Some key areas to be worked through in 2012 include:

 Development of a new Strategic Plan linked to both the Akarana and Counties/Manuaku Zones and implementation of the new strategic direction and governance roles.  On-going development and investment in IT capabilities as more of our programmes move to be delivered, accessed or communicated on-line;  Implementation of our new administration courses to support the various changes to process or the role out of these new administration systems;  Delivery of our new direct information focused Coaches and Managers Seminars, a significant undertaking in preparation and delivery;

12  Delivery of the new coaching courses and compulsory accreditation licenses;  A review of our Judicial and Appeals Committee structures not able to be advanced in 2011;  A core focus in the development and training of League Net capabilities and the capture of all registration and participation data;  Continued development and improvement of the regional representative programme;  Support of the Superleague Magazine with 8 ARL specific pages of content. In addition the administration will be publishing a new fortnightly E-Bulletin;  Continued development of the Premiership Competitions;  Progressing the development of club facilities and grounds;  Progressing the “League Central” concept.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Like all sports organisations and clubs, additional resource (both financial and human) is always wanted/needed and the importance of our volunteer network is paramount to delivery. ARL is no different and Inc has wide ranging geographical boundaries and with it some extremely diverse member needs and requirements. The Board and its administration will always be challenged to deliver those expectations in a constantly changing environment, both economically and socially. To this end I would like to acknowledge the following:

 The Board of Directors. They have faced some challenges and have continued to navigate their way through both the economic environment versus continuing to meet the needs, requirements and expectations of all members. With the change in Board structure I would like to also acknowledge and thank long serving Directors Taffy Tewheoro and Steve Brewster whose terms expired in November.  The ARL Administration and Development team of Juanita Woodhouse, Jordan Friend, Gordon Gibbons, Brian McClennan, Keith Hanley, Anaru Hudson, Marie Harper, Selwyn Pearson, Brian Mills, Brian Jack John McKeown and Alix Macartney. Their collective knowledge, experience and passion for our sport are a real asset not only for the game in Auckland, but rugby league in general. For them it is not a job and they spend many additional hours of their own time assisting and supporting programmes not part of their role to make it all happen. Thank you sincerely for your support and efforts during 2011.  Again to our Management Committees, Judicial and Appeal Committee’s, Time Keepers and Match Managers, our Representative team officials and all our volunteers. Commitment and responsibilities have changed over the last few years with more and more demanded or required to fulfil your roles. Without your support and commitment (at times for little reward other than the satisfaction of making a difference) as an organisation we could not have delivered and achieved some of the many positives in 2011.  To all our Club Administrators, Club Coaches, Managers, Trainers, Players and Supporter’s involved in our great game – Thank You. Without your support and dedication we would not have a future. As I have stated in previous reports “time is the most precious thing we have to offer” and that is often in limited supply. Thank you again for your support.

2011 was a great year nationally and internationally, the success of the NZ Warriors in making the NRL Grand Final, back to back premierships by the NZ Warriors Toyota Cup team,

13 the success of the Auckland Vulcan’s in making the NSW Cup Grand, the Junior Kiwis and NZ 16 and 18 teams successes to name a few. While we were all disappointed that the Kiwis were unable to retain the Four Nations Trophy, many established players were unavailable for varying reasons however the new players brought through will have benefited from the experience and all bodes well for the World Cup.

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