As the winter football codes’ seasons commence, now is a good time to once again compare their relative offerings to the audience and their strengths and weaknesses on and off the field.
Space, time and my limited knowledge of AFL have restricted the discussion to league and union.
We are not witnessing the demise of either code in the forseeable future, nor the takeover, merger or creation of a hybrid game. We are living in times of change that will affect both codes in the long term.
Examining the respective health of the fundamentals of each code will give us an insight into the future for both. At this point, the best we can determine is the overall direction each code is heading in.
League continues its strategy of a more simple and easier to follow game. Union continues its strategy of a more complex game but is seeking more ball in play time and some degree of simplification through the ELVs.
Neither code appears to have managed to break out of its traditional roots and audience: League is still a working class man’s game. Union is still a white collar game.
However, junior players don’t see this distinction and happily play both codes in a season. Professional players are now moving across this divide much more freely in pursuit of the biggest pay packet and playing challenge.
The key ingredients for a successful professional sport are the best people, entertainment value to patrons, growing audiences and strong finances.
Professional sport begins with having the best players in the critical, playmaking and leadership positions and then supporting them with armies of competent, fit journeymen players.
Add to this experienced coaches with good man manangement skills and enough teams of approximately equal ability and you have the makings of an entertainment offering.
But true entertainment is about more than this.
It has to move the audience emotionally. Entertainment requires passion, tribalism, loyalty, enjoyment, pride, disappointment, anger and frustration.
Audiences and strong finances follow from this.
League’s “best player” stocks are being eroded. Union’s are increasing, particularly in the backs. But depth is an issue in some positions.
Both have very good coaches and sufficient journeyman support players.
League and union both can, and do, provide an emotional experience to their patrons.
League’s continued simplification and clever coaching is having the effect, on occasions, and according to Warren Ryan, of games that are too predictable. This has the potential to damage league’s most valuable asset, its television audience.
Television audiences, unlike spectators at the ground, can easily switch to another channel if they encounter a predictable game.
Union has always lagged league in entertainment and hence audience ratings.
The ELV’s are partially addressing this issue. The first two rounds of Super 14 have seen a significant improvement in entertainment levels.
Free to air television coverage is union’s stumbling block.
League has successfully introduced the Gold Coast team and grown its audience. Union is looking further afield in Japan and expanding the number of Super 14 games by almost 100 percent with more local derbies.
League is constrained by being a local code. Union benefits from being a global code.
Finally, neither league nor union are as financially strong as they need to be or would like to be.
The economics at player, club and code level are dictating that league is declining slowly, almost imperceptibly, and by a thousand cuts.
Union is, at best, steady, but with the financial fundamentals in their favour.
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February 26th 2009 @ 10:44am
sheek said | February 26th 2009 @ 10:44am | Report comment
Anopinion,
Pinching league recruits can only ever be a stop-gap measure for union, & is a tacit acknowledgement on their part (ARU) of a dearth of quality elite players & a dysfunctional juniors system.
The short answer to your question is – ‘club structure’. Providing a clear pathway from juniors to Wallabies must now become a priority for union. The clubs are central to this, as is a national domestic comp.
As mentioned in previous posts/threads, you can’t play for the Wallabies without first appearing for a Super/provincial team; you can’t play for a Super/provincial team without first appearing for a premier rugby club; you won’t appear for a premier rugby club unless you’ve come through junior & schools, &/or regional rugby.
This is the way it must be developed. The idea of the national comp is to spread the game into every fabric of our society. Think of yourself as a farmer. Below is a very broad analogy illustration.
You have 20,000 square acres of land (Aus pop. 20 M). At present you have 4,000 sq/ac cultivated with cash crops (4 Super teams). There may be another 4-6,000 sq/ac you have yet to cultivate into revenue streams (4-6 extra super/provincial/national club sides).
Of course, the remainder of your property may never be cultivated, containing required forest land, homestead, etc (other sports, etc). But the clear analogy is that at present rugby union is under-cultivated across the country. The idea is to get places like WA, Vic & especially SA becoming self-sufficient.
The longer the ARU dithers to implement such plans, difficult as they are, the longer it will all take to come to pass. Of course, any worthwhile venture never comes easy.
February 26th 2009 @ 10:50am
Mark H said | February 26th 2009 @ 10:50am | Report comment
Well said Sheek. Indepth, lost me for a bit. Got it.
February 26th 2009 @ 10:59am
Worlds Biggest said | February 26th 2009 @ 10:59am | Report comment
yep well said Sheek. Union seems to be dithering along. League fans often complain about Gallop and his supposed lack of a long term plan etc.. Well I would love to know what JON has in store for rugby. Until Rugby has a proper National Competition in place the game will just meander along. League has the upper hand wth a very strong domestic product. Yes Rugby is a global game but LAS article is I presume based on the domestic scene. Super 14 is a great product which everyone acknowledges. It’s the pathways beneath that need a lot of work.
February 26th 2009 @ 11:44am
Towser said | February 26th 2009 @ 11:44am | Report comment
Crosscoder said
Pippinu
“To state rugby league has barely moved out of its Northern heartland is incorrect.”
Coming from the North of England,depends what you mean by moved out. I certainly dont see it from a professional team perspective. I sometimes visit the BBC site & have a gander at it generally. Sometimes the sport . Also Sheffield via the Eagles Has caused me to look at English RL occassionally although they seem to have disappeared off the radar of Sheffield sporting clubs recently. You may be correct about the amateur stuff ,but even that to my knowledge has always been around.
RL was strong in its heartland when I Ieft long ago to come here & its still strong today. But professionally if it was going to expand across the country it would have done it by now.
It still remains professionally a Northern England predominantly Yorkshire & Lancashire game in this respect. Two or three counties out of 46 is not representative of England as a whole
February 26th 2009 @ 11:50am
Cracker said | February 26th 2009 @ 11:50am | Report comment
Rugby league definately has the upper hand in Australia although it appears to be somewhat vulnerable at the moment. League retains very strong support and I believe it was only as far back as 2005 where records were set for match attendance and ratings numbers. League is still in a powerful position and as Leftie noted they have plenty of free to air tv while rugby has virtually zilch for much of the season. I think rugby continues to underestimate the importance of FTA because pay tv contracts are where the big money is. The exposure FTA can provide acts to generate bigger crowds, greater merchandise sales etc and in turn an increase in media attention.
For rugby much will hinge on the new SANZAR proposal to be put to News Ltd this year. The problem with SANZAR is that the 3 parties involved need to be in agreeance on any changes to the S14 – a problem seen when this years finals series was not expanded from 4 teams to 6 because South Africa demanded that one of their sides be guaranteed a finals spot regardless of where they finished the regular season.
I will take a punt and say that they will make it a Super 15 with a Japanese side and the comp will be extended to 18 rounds or thereabouts. The spears side from South Africa and Melbourne/West Sydney from Australia will not join the comp straight away.
At some stage the NRL are going to have to make some tough decisions and they will need to innovate intellegently to keep going. If they approach things the right way they could actually flourish. The NRL clubs are already looking at alternative revenue streams, albeit mostly focussed on gambling at present, but this is something they need to do.
At the end of the day league will stay pretty strong in the near future but union will steal more of its thunder as its financial clout and international appeal will shift the status quo.
February 26th 2009 @ 11:51am
True Tah said | February 26th 2009 @ 11:51am | Report comment
Towser – I understand that the Sheffield Eagles no longer compete at the professional level anymore/
One of the things I find a bit odd about English rugby league, is that it continues to ignore one of the corners of the UK where it is hugely popular – Cumbria, whilst looking to expand to areas where there is no deep love for the game, Wales.
February 26th 2009 @ 12:04pm
Towser said | February 26th 2009 @ 12:04pm | Report comment
True Tah
If this is the case it just emphasise Leagues difficulty in expanding beyond its heartland towns. The sporting scene was set in England 100 odd years ago. Tradition dictates that the origonal sports estabilished professionally at that time are predominant. There are several new sports in Sheffield now compared with my day. RL was one of them along with Ice Hockey maybe basketball. But the 2 Sheffield Football clubs by strong working class generational support have an iron grip on sport in the city.
Conversely the same applies to the RL clubs up the Road such as Dewsbury,Wakefield etc,all within spitting distance of Sheffield. . The Northern League teams have survived & thrived despite being surrounded by professional monolith Football teams such as ManU ,Liverpool etc.
Was going to call the Sheffield clubs monoliths,but I’m not in the mood for pisstakers around lunchtime.
February 26th 2009 @ 12:17pm
el_capitan said | February 26th 2009 @ 12:17pm | Report comment
It will be of interest when the new NRL media contract comes up. PBL is sinking at the moment, due to young Packer’s decision to invest in Casinos. Perhaps the deal will not be as sweet this time around from PBL’s stake?
Main reason the NRL crowds are down are due to playing the games in huge stadiums (Telstra Stadium anyone). If they get the games back to grass roots, bar the blockbuster main rivals match it can be more a viable option.
February 26th 2009 @ 1:00pm
Scott said | February 26th 2009 @ 1:00pm | Report comment
If we’re talking about Australia, then lets not forget that the ARU lost $8m in 2007 and NSW just reported a loss of almost $300k.
Does this mean that Union in Australia has the edge financially?
February 26th 2009 @ 1:11pm
Bay35Pablo said | February 26th 2009 @ 1:11pm | Report comment
League stronger domestically in Aus, union stronger internationally, seems to be the verdict. Wallabies outdraw kangaroos for decent games, but club comps don’t even compare. S14 crowds are decent, but any one team town in RL, or big Sydney club, good get the same crowds for decent games.
Early comment that union is white collar is interesting. Half the subbies team I used to play for were tradies. And union is pretty popouar in some country regions.
League has good junior development because the clubs are professional and have the money to do it. They need to for their next generation. Without strong juniors, not competitive, so no money, so no money into juniors. It’s a cycle.
Union clubs can’t put that money into development, so they can’t compete. The money has to come from the levels with the income, being NSWRU/QRU and NSWRU. And they are too busy looking after their own short term interests and wasting money on bureaucracy. They are too removed from the coal face.
League clubs have been professional or semi professional for a century, whereas union clubs are still in the amateur era and can’t get out of it on their own. Either the ARU reforms the club structure and pays for it, or sets up a new structure knowng it will turn club rugby into just the top level of subbies. And knowing it will cost.
League will never catch up internationally (touch wood).