The way forward for clubs in Australia
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By JiMMM, 22 Oct 2009 JiMMM is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- AFL, ARC, football, Rugby League, Rugby Union
Much has been made of need for a so called third tier of Australian rugby, and what franchises should be included. This approach unfortunately fails to address the elephant in the room: what about the clubs at the grassroots level?
What do the people who put in hundreds of volunteer hours in coaching, running canteens, or help running a club, stand to gain from a franchise put in above them (third tier).
The answer, simply put, is nothing.
This problem is not limited rugby.
Since 1982, every team to enter rugby league’s top competition has been a franchise. The AFL has only admitted one non-franchise since 1987 (Port Adelaide), and football’s current top competition is entirely made up of franchises.
So with the top level competitions (and the franchises involved) seemingly walking away from the grassroots, how can we re-engage clubs with Australia’s national competitions.
If we are honest with ourselves, the cost of a national home and away professional competition is out of reach of many of our grass root clubs. So how do we include our teams in a national competition without sending them bankrupt?
The answer, I believe, lies in the European Hockey League (EHL). The number of similarities are surprising: the EHL is based around amateur clubs, in an area roughly the size of Australia.
So how does it work?
24 teams are drawn from the 12 highest ranked nations (three each from the top four, two each from the next four and one each from the lowest four).
They are drawn into 8 pools of 3 and play will play the other two teams in their pool over a single weekend.
The top two teams from each pool then progress to the knockout round of 16, with another two rounds over a single weekend, leaving four teams to play a finals series over another weekend.
This model means if clubs make the finals, then they are only playing for a total of three weekends, significantly reducing the cost to clubs.
If we take the example of rugby, here is how I would see it working in Australia.
There would be four teams from each of Queensland and NSW, with three each from the other states with Super 15 sides (assuming Victoria get the nod. The remaining seven sides would come from Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory, with one each, and four wildcard entries (with no more than one from each state).
This would give the clubs in Australia a higher level of competition (creating the proposed third tier) and our clubs something to aspire to, without sending them to the wall.
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Bay35Pablo said | October 22nd 2009 @ 12:00pm | Report comment
Everyone is too busy smashing each other on the S15 threads to comment on this worthwhile discussion point methinks.
I assume you are talking about field hockey not ice hockey?
The amateur comps can work in Europe because of the travel distances being lower, the transport infrastructure being better and cheaper due to population size. Australia faces huge hurdles in that regard.
Further, it works because it has to. They don’t have a a pro level.
Once people get a taste for pro sports, amateur looks a lesser thing. The NSW Cup in RL will never compete with the NRL, and has quickly been overtaken by the u-20s Cup. Once people have professionalism, they don’t want to go back.
sheek said | October 22nd 2009 @ 4:06pm | Report comment
JiMMM,
I wasn’t going to respond (mentally burnt out from my own post) but you deserve more than one response (to date)!
Bay made a particularly apt comment – “Once people have professionalism, they don’t want to go back”.
Some brief thoughts.
A national comp is not meant to be open to anybody & everybody. This might seem unfair, but it’s reality.
So the process of allocating teams to locations must be strictly controlled by the relevant authority – ARU.
Too many people are still trying to promote amateur clubs in a professional environment. The stakes are now higher.
The game won’t progress unless its willing to take risks. Not unnecessary risks, but risks nevertheless. Frankly, the game needs to change its strucures, or it’ll continue to bob up & down in the ocean in the one spot.
I could go on, but like I said, I’m mentally drained from discussing this on another thread.
JiMMM said | October 22nd 2009 @ 5:56pm | Report comment
Bay, Sheek
You are both 100% right about supporters preferring a professional competition over an amateur comp, and I agree with you Sheek that not every club should be able to enter a “national league”. That is why I’ve put forward what is essentially a “national championship” model (a finals series), as a way a 3rd tier whilst encouraging clubs.
The other aim that I didn’t make clear enough in the article was that the comp isn’t to perpetuate a national amateur competition, but to start pushing amateur clubs to become professional entities.
And Bay I was talking about Field Hockey, and I obviously forgot to include my link to the comp so here it is; http://www.ehlhockey.tv/
anopinion said | October 23rd 2009 @ 7:33am | Report comment
For a competition to be a third tier, it would need to have increased standards of play week to week. Your system still has clubs playing clubs, all with their current playing rosters. Not only this but due to the nature of multiple games on weekends, they would be forced to play reserves thus weakening the sides further.
A third tier requires taking the best non super 14 players and teaming them with the super 14 players that are not in the Wallaby Squad.
LeftArmSpinner said | October 23rd 2009 @ 8:31am | Report comment
the majority opf ingredients are aleady there. the clubs, the players, the infrastrcuture, the tribalism. It needs vision, brains and cash. it canbe done, but I dont know who is going to do it………
sheek said | October 23rd 2009 @ 1:23pm | Report comment
Leftie,
This is where we disagree. The Sydney PR & Brisbane PR, right now, unchanged, won’t help provide the competition required of a national comp.
Sydney might have 3-4 teams that almost satisfy the criteria, but the remaining 9-8 fall well short. In Brisbane 2-3 might satisfy the criteria, but not the other 8-7.
Alternately, if you cherry pick those 5-7 clubs & place them in the national comp, it’s hardly going to appease the remainder. And what about the rest of the country? Or don’t they count?
It’s no longer about Sydney, or just Sydney & Brisbane, & perhaps Canberra. It’s about keeping the Wallabies strong, & developing the game in non-traditional areas.
Your clubs, players, infrastructure & tribalism are entirely appropriate for premier rugby, but Australian rugby requires more & better. Much more & better…..
albatross said | October 25th 2009 @ 9:56pm | Report comment
This is the state of play for rugby union in the Penrith district: Phil Waugh could walk down Queen Street in St Marys and no-one would recognise him, said Penrith Emus coach Jarrod Hodges of the long-serving Wallaby forward.
http://www.blacktownsun.com.au/news/local/sport/rugby-union/wanted-a-fix-for-the-dire-state-of-rugby-union/1654344.aspx
Bay35Pablo said | October 26th 2009 @ 7:53am | Report comment
Good link albatross!! Although now I am more depressed.
“Pinson said NSW Rugby had to make a decision on whether it wanted to support Penrith or let it wither.
He was speaking the day before a meeting with Australian Rugby development representatives, where de and Hodges had a victory: its two development officers in the west would concentrate more on Penrith, at the cost of the Parramatta and Campbelltown areas.”
Taking from Peter to pay Paul!!! Parra and Campbelltown need the support just as much!!! Why aren’t they taking it from the north and East where the game is stronger? having said that, they also need to keep supporting those areas, and not neglect them. Perhaps they need to come to an arrangement where the premier clubs in those areas bear half the cost with the NSWRU of the development officers in those districts?
The fact is that rugby doesn’t have enough resources to provide the number of officers it needs in Sydney on an ongoing basis. Where all those bloody raffles before the Tahs games putting money to that, or the Junior Tahs?
I seem to recall Yikes saying the cutting of the development officers in the West was a limited term funding that ended, rather than funding being cut, but I may be wrong.