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Following long-held discussions and speculation, it was announced today that the NRL have come to terms with a private promoter, Duco Events, to partake in an NRL Nines competition in Auckland for the next five years.
The last time the NRL ventured into this territory was 2004 when the Wests Tigers were victorious in capturing the title in a seven-a-side tournament.
This latest announcement is sure to spark controversy across league circles for a number of different reasons.
Already the NRL have come out to extinguish rumours that top players would sit out the tournament by outlining a clause in the contract that stipulates clubs will be forced to field one of the top five top earners as per the salary cap.
This will help to instil credibility to the tournament, but also means we risk injury to a star that fans will actually pay to watch.
The temptation from clubs to field a strong team will be the prize pool of $2 million dollars to the clubs, which will no doubt ensures cash strapped clubs like the Tigers and Sharks give it a red hot go.
There’s no secret that both the NRL and the private promoter stand to make a lot of money from the tournament, but the other big winner will be the city of Auckland who will benefit from the attention and attendance the tournament receives.
The question I have is why couldn’t the National Rugby League of Australia host the tournament on its own shores?
The greatest concern with the tournament however is not the location but the length of the contract that the NRL has entered into to be a part of it all. Five years is a long time in football, particularly for a new tournament which cannot guarantee success.
A casualty of the lucrative February based event is already the NRL All-Stars match, which has already announced its postponement for 2014. This is as much to do with the World Cup at the end of the year and the toll that will likely have on the league’s top players, but in years to come will there be room in the preseason for both a Nines Tournament and an All-Stars game?
Surely a 13 v 13 match up of the league’s greatest talent playing with modified rules designed at better game play is more appealing than a watered down Nine-a-side tournament with teams stacked with up and comers and second-tier talent? Or will the $2 million carrot dangling in Auckland be too much for the clubs to resist?
Rest assured the first injury to occur as a result of this tournament will have commentators up in arms.
David Smith has made a lot of fantastic business decisions since taking over as CEO of the NRL, but let’s hope this five year investment isn’t to the detriment of the clubs and players actually playing the game.
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