New league commission really just more of the same
Roar Guru
By Steve Kaless, 1 Dec 2009 Steve Kaless is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- ARL, Colin Love, David Gallop, NRL, Rugby League
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The next chapter in rugby league looks set to begin in 2010, and while the symbolism may be huge, in reality it may just mean another day at the office.
With News Ltd and the ARL set to make way for an independent commission to run rugby league, many supporters are praising the heavens that they finally lose the Super League baggage of News Ltd and the many layers of seemingly pointless bureaucracy that comes with the ARL.
But it must be remembered that the independent commission, which I have praised in the past, shouldn’t be seen as an automatic answer to every problem in the game.
Colin Love hasn’t been able to stop the “alcohol fuelled incidents” during his time in nearly every executive position in the game, so I can’t see every player giving up the drink on the basis that Love is now anointed as the new high priest.
The very fact that Love is set to run the inaugural board should be a sobering moment for anyone getting caught up in the hedonism of change.
The board was meant to be about new ideas, new direction and new leadership, and instead we end with someone who seems to have attended every junket since 1908 and has been a part of many of the game’s great disappointments as he has been its successes.
The game is also taking something of a financial gamble.
They may well feel that it is a smart move, but the fact is, from day one, they lose $16 million dollars in News Ltd funding and it is then up to them into increase the new revenue by more than that in order to financially justify the change.
Some argue that that will be easy with the fact that News Ltd will now no longer be sitting on both sides of the negotiating table.
But trying to avoid News Ltd in Australia is likely trying to avoid your own shadow.
Amongst other things, News Ltd also own a 50 per cent stake in Premier Media Group, which owns Fox Sports and negotiated the first and last right of refusal on any pay-television deal until 2022.
The whole Murdoch business model is about owning every step in the production process so for those looking for a complete break may as well stock up on baked beans and move to the mountains.
The new commission is largely about administration and just because a sport suddenly has the same style of administration as the AFL doesn’t mean they have the same success in their administration.
Anyone who argues that fails to recognise the hard work and talent by the individual members of the AFL commission.
Rugby league is certainly doing itself a few favours by freeing itself from some of the nasty shackles of the past but its future is still down to the hard work and correct decisions made by the men in charge.
Perhaps if they want to replicate the success of AFL, they also need to replicate the relationship between the clubs who all seem to share the same vision.
In league, while each club is often hell bent on ensuring no other team receives an advantage, the AFL clubs seem to have been happy to support all forms of salary cap concessions for the good of the game.
Either that, or the leadership was strong enough to force it upon them.
It’s an interesting comparison when you ask yourself whether rugby league clubs would be as supportive of a new club in Perth in the way AFL clubs are welcoming of a side in Western Sydney.
You also can’t help but feel that it is nothing but scare mongering by the QRL, who claim the move could be the death of State of Origin.
Surely not even rugby league administrators are stupid enough to botch up the brightest jewel in the crown.
So a new set of business cards and a new logo for the rugby league world, but the challenges remain the same and the past is, well, prologue.
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Col the Bear said | December 1st 2009 @ 5:09am | Report comment
Steve the SL ghosts will linger and linger until the Bears are reinstated.. then the ghosts can finally be put to rest..Gallop has made it clear that this is the final wrong that needs fixing..The Bears; who missed out on everything in the compromise..and vanquished for 10 years..
and yes a lot are rejoicing about the new commission, I am optimistically cautious, until the day we run out at Gosford in the red and black as the Central Coast Bears.. our fight will continue relentlessly…
Col the Bear said | December 1st 2009 @ 5:18am | Report comment
also you could see the writing on the wall as recent as last week when Lachlan went into buying into the radio business.. wasn’t it Nova and similar stations they are putting funds into.. ..
Steve Kaless said | December 1st 2009 @ 1:12pm | Report comment
Col,
I agree the Bears reintroduction is a no brainer and would finally end the Super League battles (save the few Adelaide Rams fans still hiding in the jungle). However it is interesting the mixed messages that seem to come from the NRL. First they tell us that the saturation of the Sydney market is there strong point and yet they seem cool on the Bears for the amount of pay TV subscribers they may bring to the table.
Surely a team on the Central Coast is going to add more to the ratings than say the Sharks?
Paul J said | December 1st 2009 @ 6:45am | Report comment
Steve
You seem to be taking the side of cautious optimism rather than unrestrained jubilation.
I totally disagree that the new independent commission could be seen as more of the same.
Your main points of argument seem to be Colin Love and News.
Having Colin Love as chairman is not perfect but he is only there for 2 years and this seems to have been a compromise needed to get the new IC over the line. He’ll be referring to 8 independent commissioners who will be making the important decisions.
In regards to News Ltd all the codes have to deal with News at some point in their TV rights negotiations but RL has now joined the other codes by no longer have News Ltd sitting on both sides of the negotiating table. Can you imagine if we went into the next crucial TV rights deal with the old News/ARL leadership?
And now the clubs all receive equal grants from the IC guarantying all clubs the best chance of survival and all clubs vote equally on who becomes a commissioner.
And the AFL commissioners have worked very hard to get things done but what would stop industry heavyweights in a RL commission being any different?
I believe you are simply playing the devils advocate here. This is massive news for RL. It is a very big step in the right direction.
Steve Kaless said | December 1st 2009 @ 1:17pm | Report comment
Paul,
You make some valid points, my cautious optimism comes from the fact that the ideas need to be implemented. Colin Love does arrive with a reputation for making hard and fast decisions for the good of the game.
Yes, it is a massive step forward, but we can’t kid ourselves that suddenly every problem is solved, we may just have a better vehicle with which to deal with them.
Mushi said | December 1st 2009 @ 7:26am | Report comment
The age old saying “Be careful what you wish for” couldn’t apply more to the independent commission.
I read the throw away line that the commission will “hand back the game of rugby league to the people”. Now whilst this is a great line it isn’t actually true.
It will hand the NRL over to representatives of the clubs. Now have a think as to who will guide those appointments..
For some they will be appointed by the boards members elected, though I use the term elected loosely as the club level politics represents devolution from a monkey exhibit at the zoo where qualifications and ability are a distant 232nd to various stunts, prejudice and loyalties.
For others they will be appointed by clubs which are privately owned. To suggest they will operate for the people is to suggest the management of Microsoft, BHP and Nestle has been given to the people.
The most likely result is going to be a mix of representatives with the commercial focus of increasing the value of their owners franchises and representatives born from back room deals and political alliances.
The only group that this commission will be independent from is the average punter.
Now in terms of broadening the reach of the game this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, a commercially driven board will focus on increasing revenue and in particular the value of that TV contract.
For the “true” fan, i.e. one who will at the very least watch just about every available game their club is involved if not every game they can get their eye balls fixated on, this may not necessarily be a victory. Because increasing revenue is not the same as looking after your existing fans.
Generally it means focusing on finding new fans secure in the knowledge that emotionally invested fans are “sticky” and unlikely to leave even if you repeatedly fail to meet their expectations. This is how banks operate and it is really how such other commission run sports operate.
The NFL has been used as the shinning light for results of a commission based governance system when talking about the benefits to Rugby League. And, for the owner of a club, this is correct such a commission is only likely to grow the value of your investment.
However if you’ve followed the NFL over the past two or three decades you would of seen a trend where the games has progressively alienated of the lower-middle class with ticket prices and the cost of accessing games on television .
In the present environment stadium designs are centred on the attractiveness and number of corporate suites for rent with every day fan no more than an after though. It is, to put it kindly, unprofitable to look after a plumber and his two kids when a PR company will pay five to ten times the amount to bring a few casual fans through every week.
So here is your commission where the new commissioner bares an uncanny resemblance to the ineffectual old head of the ARL and the other members of the commission look about as independent as Tony Abbot.
Paul J said | December 1st 2009 @ 7:50am | Report comment
I agree that “hand back the game of rugby league to the people” is a bit of a throw away line.
6 NRL clubs are privately owned, 10 are not. Not a big issue.
The point is ALL the clubs now receive an equal (increased) grant from the IC in the future and ALL the clubs have equal say in who is elected as a commissioner.
The negative views of the IC so far seems to be of the “let’s not get too carried away with this” point of view, and i can see some merit in that.
But if the IC helps grow the game, which it should, how is that a really bad thing for any RL fan?
Can anyone give me one example of how the old News/ARL leadership structure was superior to the new IC?
M1tch said | December 1st 2009 @ 8:07am | Report comment
Its good and bad, good that arl and news are gone…but bad because its the same muppets who will once bow down to channel 9 and take whatever offer they put first
Mushi said | December 1st 2009 @ 8:10am | Report comment
Can growing the game be bad for a current fan? Yes.
Growth is focused on making the game a better proposition for the potential or marginal fan, if that comes at the expense of how enjoyable/accessible it is for the entrenched fan then so be it.
There tends not to be a magical way to just expand with out compromising on something regarding quality, traditional, accessibility etc. The more you want to expand the broader you have to pitch it and the broader you pitch it the less it meets any individual’s specific needs or wants.
As I said look at the NFL model, great model for making money – crap model for the low income punter who once was the “heartland” of the game. The great part is, most punters aren’t switched on enough to realise until 10 years down the track something doesn’t feel right.
As to giving examples of superiority you need to actually know what you’re comparing it to, at the moment we have a shell full of rhetoric that just looks like a more convoluted political facsimile of what we had before.
Paul J said | December 1st 2009 @ 8:17am | Report comment
Mitch
It is not the same muppets. This is the main point.
Colin Love is there for 2 years and David Gallop for 3-5, they are the only 2 who have survived.
There will be 8 new independent commissioners. This is how an IC works. They are not old dinosaurs who were subservient to the ARL, NSWRL or QLD.
They will bring impartial & unbiased direction to the game.
M1tch said | December 1st 2009 @ 8:29am | Report comment
The 2 main men in charge are the here right now saying no expansion until 2017..
Colin Love has only started looking after the International game since 2008 and now he is our leader?
Gallop – I know has a tough job and has been restrainted by news, but he gives me no hope as a fan, he gives us no plans or vision.
oikee said | December 1st 2009 @ 9:16am | Report comment
Mitch young buddy, i think your very harsh on Gallop, the game has grown under his leadership, and he has made some very tough decisions. As for Colin Love, he runs the ststaes leagues, i think he knows what he is doing, nobody else on the new board would have a clue what goes on?. So without love, the new commission would be koas.
Get it,? Without LOVE , the new commission would be kaos. 
Mr cheese said | December 2nd 2009 @ 7:19am | Report comment
Oikster, old boy.
I saw Mr. Love on the TV during the recent 4 Nations tournoi.
Rugby League on the BBC ?!?!?!?!? Well, yes, actually….
Anyways, he was talking about the ‘growth’ in European and International Rugby League. He seemed to me to be a nice guy who was probably a little optimistic.
I am afraid that he wasn’t very convincing.
Paul J said | December 1st 2009 @ 8:25am | Report comment
Mushi
I think you’re arguing the traditions of a game balanced against the corporate reality of modern sport, this happen to all sports.
“As to giving examples of superiority you need to actually know what you’re comparing it to, at the moment we have a shell full of rhetoric that just looks like a more convoluted political facsimile of what we had before.”
I don’t know what you mean by this? How do you think the new IC is an inferior leadership structure to the News /ARL one we currently have?
I’m not having a go, i just can not think of how the IC will be worse than what we have now. If i missed something specific it would be good to know.
The Link said | December 1st 2009 @ 8:28am | Report comment
Steve – good article. A panacea it is not, but looking beyond the early compromise move of appointing Love, this is a step in the right direction. Cautious optimisim i’d say.
Some pundits believe the success of RL in Australia is due to some News Limited conspiracy, well they’re about to find out that RL was No.1 in NSW and QLD for 90 years before News Limited and will be so for a long time to come.
Any pain felt from News’ exit will be short term. RL has clearly been getting unders in TV rights. For example how any sport in Australia has gotten a cent more than RL for Pay TV rights is baffling, even allowing for subsciption growth arguments.