By Phil Hickey
The Road Safety Commission says it's "exciting", the WA Police Union believes it's a "waste" and the Western Force rugby team denies it's a "lifeline" for the club.
But there's no doubt the $1.5 million spent on a new naming rights deal struck between the State Government and the Western Force to promote road safety has divided opinion.
According to the parties involved the deal has been brewing behind the scenes for over six months and new details of how the deal was reached have been released to WAtoday.
Under the deal announced on Tuesday, the Force will become known as the Road Safety Western Force after the Liberal Government reached an agreement with RugbyWA.
What the new Western Force jersey will look like.Credit: Western Force Facebook page
That money will be used from the Road Trauma Trust Account - a fund which was set up to reduce the state's road toll, which hit 194 last year.
The 12-month naming rights deal will allow the Road Safety Commission (RSC), the state's primary road safety body, to "reach the rugby community" and "regional WA with its road safety message."
The partnership will also include RSC naming rights, jersey branding, match day signage and advertising.
The club's new look jersey will be showcased for the first time at a rugby tournament in Brisbane next week.
Force players will also be recruited as "ambassadors" to promote road safety initiatives in country areas.
They will be expected to carry out 1200 hours of road safety community work over the next 12 months.
Road Safety Commissioner Kim Papalia said negotiations had been going on for the past seven months.
He said the commission first met with RugbyWA representatives last June and the idea was later put to Road Safety Minister Liza Harvey for approval.
"Our RSC strategy team has put significant time and effort into analysing the benefits of a partnership," Mr Papalia said.
"We are delighted that the minister approved our proposal.
"Our research shows that targeting men aged between 20-59 will have a strong impact on the road toll and therefore will represent a significant (178 per cent) return on investment for the funds from the Road Trauma Trust Account. This is a strong demographic for Rugby WA.
"We also chose to partner with Western Force because there has been a conspicuous absence of targeted and engaging road safety activity in this space during recent years."
Figures show that last year 103 of the 194 people killed on WA roads were men aged between 20-59.
The WA Police Union however has criticised the initiative, labelling it a "waste of resources."
"The new road safety sponsorship agreement between the Road Safety Commission and the Western Force is a waste of valuable resources from the Road Trauma Trust Fund," union president George Tilbury told WAtoday.
"We strongly believe that 1200 hours of highly visible police patrols on our roads, particularly in regional WA, will have a much greater impact than community work from Western Force players."
The partnership has also been labelled in some circles as somewhat of a "lifeline" for the Force - a tag the club has dismissed. In recent years the club has struggled on and off the field.
On the field, last year was the Force's worst in 10 years winning just two games, while attendances have been on the decline.
In its last two games the Force attracted crowd numbers at nib Stadium of just 9,247 and 12,301 - a long way adrift of its highest figure back in 2011 of 22,000.
Last year an "alliance agreement" was finalised between the the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and RugbyWA, which meant all Force players, coaches and staff would be employed by the ARU.
"Our financial position has been brought to a head over the past two years through a combination of the economic downturn in Western Australia...and our team performance not improving in very trying circumstances," the club said on its website last year.
"Through their (ARU) support, the Western Force now has the financial stability and certainty to continue to compete in the Super Rugby competition."
In an interview with WAtoday on Wednesday, Western Force chief Mark Sinderberry dismissed reports the new deal with the RSC was a "lifeline."
"Yes it is a significant amount of money," he said.
"(But) it provides a great opportunity for us to be involved and part of a very important issue within the community.
"But it's wrong to say it's a lifeline.
"The underlying reason why we have this partnership in place is very simply that our participation is very much aligned with the demographics that are coming out of the road traffic toll.
"We have a group of young men who are leaders in their field.
"If part of their conversation and the work they are doing in the community is just asking people not to speed, not to text, then hopefully we can go someway to helping address this chronic issue."
A spokesperson for Mrs Harvey said on Wednesday the partnership was similar to an agreement the Transport Accident Commission in Victoria had with several Melbourne based sporting clubs.
"The RSC ensured the partnership would reach the targeted demographic," the spokesperson said.
"Last year, 20-59 year old men, many in regional areas, made up more than half of all the fatalities. This is a significant proportion of the rugby, sport demographic and Western Force has a significant footprint in regional WA.
"Just like alcohol and other sponsors target sport clubs to influence purchasing behaviour, the RSC is targeting that demographic to try and influence driving behaviour."