The main talking points from the SEN interview between CEO Ameet Bains and Gerard Whateley.
Update for the off-season
“I believe that before making any changes, it was crucial to lay out the approach we intended to pursue. That was the subject of much discussion, and the board—led ably by our president Kylie Watson-Wheeler—had a big part in it. Our football director, Luke Darcy, was also quite active.
“An internal assessment of the season’s events was conducted right after it ended. We had to be much more introspective sooner than we might have been otherwise because, in my opinion, we lost a few of those late-season games in a way that made it seem like we would make the finals for the most of the second part of the season.
“It’s clear from that process that there was a lot of personnel turnover; some of it was intentional on our part, and some of it was the result of people moving at that time of year.
All you have to do at that point is fill in those blanks. You can’t afford to wait to have everything in order in a highly competitive climate; instead, you must go out to market and select the best candidates you believe can fill the positions you need filled.
“It’s clear from that process that there was a lot of personnel turnover; some of it was intentional on our part, and some of it was the result of people moving at that time of year. All you have to do at that point is fill in those blanks. You can’t afford to wait to have everything in order in a highly competitive climate; instead, you must go out to market and select the best candidates you believe can fill the positions you need filled.
Player leadership: “We are aware of the depth of some players’ leadership inside (the group), and Marcus is undoubtedly a star who is still acknowledged by his peers as such. Others who have shown progress in their leadership are Tom Liberatore and his promotion to vice captain, which is an amazing tale for him as well. Throughout the offseason, he also had a very powerful voice.
2024 projections
“I guess until those games start, none of us will really know, but we feel really good about where we’re headed.”
“We are aware that we need to get better, and since we were not successful last year, we believe that the first step in getting better must be participating in the finals. We were really disappointed at the end of the previous year, but we know we are capable of that.
“Playing finals and going as deep as we can is definitely the focus, but some of the lessons we’ve learned around that really just center on the more immediate future as well and control what we can in the short term,” the author says.
We have a tremendously talented list, in my opinion. This year, I won’t get caught up in making predictions about how it will turn out, but experience has shown that you give yourself the best chance when you make it to the finals and start to perform well. Considering how last year ended, we really just need to make the eight and go on.
40k members reached in record time
We hit the 40,000 member mark last week, the fastest we’ve ever done. It’s fantastic, and we’re really appreciative of the people that signed up early. We intend to surpass 60,000 for the first time in the near future, and we’re on course to do it, but we truly need
This is remarkable considering the club’s recent expansion, but it also speaks volumes about the tenacity of our fan base, which has undoubtedly experienced some highs and lows over the past ten years.
The fact that the fan base is agitated, in my opinion, is a good thing because it shows that they are invested and passionate. That seems to be what we’ve discovered. You know, our fans have legitimately questioned us on several occasions, but they have remained loyal to us in the membership sense, for which we are quite appreciative.
