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The game’s biggest signing of season 2015 might just have been done by the NRL’s CEO David Smith.
Bringing Shane Richardson from the premiership-winning Rabbitohs to head office has such great potential for our sport to really grow.
Super experienced in so many ways, Richardson brings plenty to the game’s ruling body and it’s hard to imagine anyone who could equal his possible contribution.
I am not aware of a public disclosure of his new job description but I sure hope it’s extensive and all-embracing so that we can get real solutions to some long-term problems.
His presence can offer so much in those many meetings and power-broking battles that arise every season.
Who else currently in those meets can boast his hands-on exposure to so many football club successes, and some failures too? The CEO and commissioners may make the biggest decisions but none can match Richardson’s knowledge nor his varied and likely different perspective.
David Smith has done well to bring him inside the tent and they would all do well to listen closely so that some perennial issues for our game can finally be addressed. Not to mention some huge directional calls that are likely to come over the footy horizon pretty quickly.
Like what?
The players’ association and its claims for the future have potential black cloud written all over it. Many other pro sports have ended up in court and even in player strike situations as they underwent rapid growth like our sport is doing right now. Some cool heads with strong resolve and great understanding of the game’s history, present and future will be needed at the table of negotiations. If that happens then just as possible is the opportunity to work in harmony with that association to achieve huge gains for rugby league.
From player welfare to financial considerations for individuals to clubs’ viability, the balance between perceived greed to every one getting a fair crack and the growth of the sport as a whole will need someone to lead it who truly understands all sides of the discussion.
Meanwhile, there is a serious division developing between NRL clubs.
Clubs with strong junior bases are getting tired of pouring money into development of players they have no control over when it comes time for those young players to become contracted and get a shot at the big time. It’s a free-for-all open market that seems very lopsided.
Some NRL clubs are looking for a leg-up at the expense of others as they feel they are doing more for future NRL players and other required high-performing personnel. Some clubs are seen to be doing almost nothing in terms of this important grass-roots development, and by not incurring development expenses, these clubs can spend their share of the TV-money pie on their NRL team.
Some clubs are spending a million dollars a season on a head coach, while others can afford as little as a quarter of that! That says a lot about the difference in ability to offer their players quality preparation.
Souths, awash with money these days, are sending select players to Arizona for professional preparation unavailable here. Other clubs are staying in caravan parks and calling it a training camp – it’s all they can afford.
Last time NRL clubs squabbled we had a disaster called Super League. Many individuals profited big time from that but the game itself was ripped off and brought to its knees with so much money wasted. We can do without any sort of repeat of a civil war.
Then the annual arguments about the on-field issues need to be fought out and resolved. How the game’s rules and interpretations should be determined and who should be doing that is still an ugly component for the NRL administration. There are way too many people sick of hearing “if it’s good for Wayne it’s good for the game”.
And of course the actual NRL competition itself: how many matches should be played in the season, clashing with Origin, international programmes and the odd argument about the NYC competition, All Stars and Nines.
Shane Richardson will be very busy but he’s the best person in our game to sort that important stuff out. He won’t sort it all out before lunch on his first day, but given time, support and the ears of the big wheels, he’ll get there.
On the playing front, Feleti Mateo may turn out to be the best acquisition of the 2015 season. His talents coupled with Manly’s attacking style seem like an ideal match.
But more about that stuff next week!
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