- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The NRL has often been accused of not looking at the ‘big picture’, or the greater good of the game. The NRL’s ‘vision’ – or lack thereof – has received criticism, and the organisation has been labelled everything from reactive to stagnant.
I’m not in a position to comment on whether those criticisms carry serious merit, however, when I look at one of the NRL‘s biggest competitors – the AFL – one can’t help but be envious of the way it has a clear ambition for its game, and ruthlessly adheres to that plan.
Eradicating suburban grounds in Melbourne, aggressive expansion with new clubs, strong grassroots development, its own media department, a 24/7 pay TV channel, and ensuring high profile players are based in regions that are important to the code’s profile, are all just some of the examples that prove the AFL has a strategy in place to ensure it’s long-term growth and success.
The AFL makes decisions through the lens of what’s right for the entire game, not just individual clubs. The by-product being that the majority of stakeholders involved in the sport will ideally be better off in the long run from the development decisions the governing body makes.
From a player perspective, the AFL played a role in getting Buddy Franklin to Sydney, Israel Folau to Western Sydney, along with Karmichael Hunt and Gary Ablett Jr to the Gold Coast, because it believed said moves would holistically benefit the AFL.
It’s with that understanding that I therefore proclaim that I actually hope the NRL did help get superstar Daly Cherry-Evans to the Gold Coast Titans, as announced last Friday night.
For the uninitiated, the Titans were recently placed in voluntary administration by its board, after it admitted the club could no longer meet its financial obligations, including employee salaries.
The NRL stepped in, terminated the club’s license, and took over the running of the franchise.
That ensured that when the news broke that the club had signed Cherry-Evans to a four year, $4 million contract, it was met with dismay in some quarters, with accusations the NRL had orchestrated the deal.
When it comes to accusations, that’s on par with accusing Johnathan Thurston of being a good player. If the NRL is running the club… then of course they orchestrated the deal. I’m not really sure why that would be a surprise.
Furthermore, how is it a bad thing?
Let’s be clear: any club worth it’s salt should be chasing a free agent of Cherry-Evans’ ability. I’d be more worried if a club wasn’t looking to sign him.
Considering the NRL should now be acting in the best interests of the Gold Coast Titans, signing Cherry-Evans just proves they’re astute judges of talent.
Therefore, the fact the NRL now runs the club is irrelevant, in my opinion.
Yet I suspect the criticism aimed at the NRL isn’t because signing Cherry-Evans is in the best interests of the Titans, but because it’s in the best interests of the NRL.
The governing body is essentially being accused of being self-serving.
Though if the NRL were acting in the best interests of itself, I actually admire them for it.
Should the Gold Coast region be deemed of vital strategic importance to rugby league and the NRL competition, and the long term viability and success of the Titans is important to the growth of the overall game, then I applaud the NRL for orchestrating a player move that may help achieve that success.
To be clear, I actually don’t think the NRL played much of a role in the Titans securing Cherry-Evans anyway. The club was already negotiating with the halfback before the NRL took over control of the franchise. I believe the only influence that the NRL had in this matter was assuring Cherry-Evans and his manager that the club wasn’t going anywhere.
However, a part of me hopes that the conspiracy theorists are right, and there is something ‘underhanded’ about the Titans securing Cherry-Evans signature, while they are under the control of the NRL.
It would be proof that the NRL has a strategic plan, and is willing to take steps to implement it.
Just like the AFL.