Where Are They Now?

In 2015 we started tracking six different teams across six different competitions, who at the time were low TWI® (TWI® being a measure of their ability to create Cohesion via recruitment practice and is a strong indicator of long-term success). This is now the 4th time we have followed up with the teams to see how they are tracking.

Brooklyn Nets (NBA):

Brooklyn have maintained a low TWI® over the last 5 seasons but with a very moderate improvement. With the average TWI® of the competition dropping marginally it has made Brooklyn current TWI® look even better. However, their lack of stability and constant desire to find the "answer" has not enabled them to progress TWI® in the same way a team like Milwaukee did when they doubled their TWI® in the 2 seasons leading into the 2018/19 season. Considering that there is San Antonio Spurs DNA in crucial positions within the Nets organisation it is surprising not see a more stable environment. If success comes to Brooklyn in the near future it may well be more a function of the competition becoming more volatile than an underlying improvement within Brooklyn itself.

Salford Red Devils (English Super League):

The 2019 Super League season showed what a bit of stability could do when Salford had the biggest increase in TWI® of all the clubs leading into the start of the season. They ended up losing the Grand Final against St Helens (the highest TWI® team in the competition that season). This was their best performance in recent history by far and a reflection of the level of On-Field Cohesion created by the increase in TWI®. However, it seems 2019 was an anomaly and Salford have returned to their low TWI® recruiting ways with an expected level of performance to follow.

Parramatta Eels (NRL):

The Eels have been slowly developing their TWI® over the last 5 seasons but there is still a emphasis on buy over build within the club. They are currently sitting on top of the 2020 NRL ladder after 5 rounds with 5 straight wins. They finishing a respectable 5th last season, however have fluctuated between the top and the bottom of the table in recent seasons. Volatility like this is not uncommon for low Cohesion teams. While their current performance looks good, the nature of the way the Eels have put their squad together and retained their players they are set up very well in the short-term. There is potentially a big performance drop in the near future which is a reflection of their TWI®. Winning in the now can be to the detriment of winning in the future but these are the choices teams make (if they understand the consequences).

Melbourne Rebels (Super Rugby):

Stability is not in the nature of the Melbourne Rebels. This may well be through circumstance and through choice. Even with the influx of representative talent they have not been able to develop that talent into a Cohesive team on the pitch. The Rebels are one of the most experienced teams in Super Rugby but one of the lowest TWI® and this is reflected in performance. Building a team is problematic for the Rebels due to the nature of pathways in a non-Rugby state. However, they do sit in the same building as Rugby League's Melbourne Storm, a team that has built a long-term sustainable system via very high TWI® so there is a potential path to be followed.

London Welsh:

From playing in the English Premiership in 2015 to being dissolved and effectively surviving in name only by the armature London Welsh club playing in the 7th tier of English Rugby. In 2015 they had over 1000 points scored against them in 22 games and were the lowest TWI® team ever in Premiership Rugby and that potentially was a large signal around the governance of the organisation. The shortest of short-term visions played a role in their demise.

Queens Park Rangers (Football Championship):

After a marginal increase QPR's TWI® has not changed significantly over the last few seasons indicating a lack of stability and a buy over build mentality. But they are not alone in the constant churn that is English Championship football. The one positive signal is the increase of academy players into the squad, but if the overall lack of stability continues the academy players will not have an environment that will allow them to reach capacity. Without a higher TWI® it is much harder to bring through academy type players. With the Championship being such a volatile competition success may come but without an underlying improvement of TWI® further success and development of talent will be very hard.

While TWI® most obviously manifests itself on the playing arena, it is also a measure of an organisation as a whole. Best case scenario for low TWI® teams is sporadic success, worst case is failure of the organisation. This has played out with the unfortunate and sad demise of London Welsh.

Overall it doesn't make for positive reading that none of these six teams have been able to create a better TWI® environment. But all is not lost. There are lots of examples of teams changing how they do things and increasing TWI® in the leadup to becoming more successful. Teams like Tottenham Hotspur (EPL), Milwaukee Bucks (NBA), Richmond & West Coast Eagles (AFL) and Auckland Blues (Super Rugby) had positive changes to their respective TWI®s. Sometimes these changes are consciously driven and sometimes not. Salford Red Devils are an example of a team that potentially didn't understand how their TWI® driven through recruitment philosophy has impacted performance in their 2019 season as all their gains were quickly erased in 2020.

It takes a significant philosophical shift within an organisation to change recruiting strategy and is primarily an organisational governance issue. For underperforming teams it is normally the coach or players who get the blame but ultimately it is the responsibility of the organisation's governance.

GAIN LINE Analytics has created a specific Cohesion Analytics Webinar Presentation Series. The online presentation series will allow for a time and cost effective way to learn about the impact of Cohesion on team dynamics, how governance decision impacts long-term performance and how recruitment and selection influence day-to-day outcomes.

The presentation series will be broken into Corporate, Sport and unique areas within each such as specific sporting codes.

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