It wouldn’t be difficult to craft Rosich’s resume to paint him as being very successful during his stint as Freo’s CEO:
i. The team had its most successful on-field period while he was CEO;
ii. He was able to poach one of the most highly sought-after coaches;
iii. The club secured a heap of third-party funding to build a new training facility and transitioned well into it;
iv. The club executed a successful rebrand; and
v. Some other corporate guff and KPIs.
And the thing is you don’t have to persuade everyone you did a good job, or even half the people, you just need to persuade the few people responsible for hiring you next.
As for who he did or didn’t listen to, I think you could make a good case that Rosich effectively pursued the goals set by the Board to drive the club in the direction they thought was forward. As Freo fan I think our club is far worse for his involvement, but the VRC didn’t ask me, and I’m sure Harris gave him a wonderful reference.
