NRL, A-League should expand in New Zealand

Sky in answer to serveral questions about only getting the rugby channel without having to get sky sport. Why can't we just subscribe to the Rugby Channel? Published 26/06/2006 05.37 PM | Updated 27/05/2010 11.48 AM Why can't we just subscribe to the Rugby Channel? Prior to the launch of the Rugby Channel and not withstanding the very extensive rugby coverage of SKY Sport, we were regularly received requests from our subscribers for yet more rugby coverage. Events such as the Six Nations, Currie Cup, Northern Hemisphere rugby, classic games and rugby shows. In order to provide this additional coverage for a group of dedicated rugby fans, the Rugby Channel was created. The channel also provides points of difference such as broadcasts in widescreen wherever possible. The additional revenue generated by Rugby Channel subscribers helps pay for this additional rugby programming. If we were to allow subscribers to take the Rugby Channel without also subscribing to SKY Sports, we would be forced to charge an increased amount for the Rugby Channel to cover the revenue lost from SKY Sports (probably equivalent to the subscription rate of SKY Sport and the Rugby Channel combined). We do not believe this is a commercially viable or desirable for the majority of our subscribers.

some leaguie put the 22,000 figures on wiki. the papers and nzrl ceo have mention 15,000 in the papers here in nz.

dave or kovana whatever. Read champ repeat read the comment ,not what you think was stated. .I am not calling the game in toto elitist .I am simply giving you the definiton of the word and why it is used by the media and even some former students who attended these establishments in Australia.. The word used was "regardless " of the code in countriessuch as Samoa etc. People use elitist due to the involvement of the Oz and English elite private school system.Nothing more.Not the Fiji,Samoan,NZ nor Sth African school but the 2 countries I stated. On the basis of what happens in the elite schools in Oz,one can understand why the code involved is called elitist in this country,not Fiji not Samoa.Got the message.I sincerely hope so. I know that Nigel Vagana and a few other NRL players and surfer guys went to Samoa,after the tsunami,and of course ru is not elitist in that country.The country is poor,but the quality and character of the people is very rich.The reference is to Oz not the P.I. champ.Please understand.

I don't know who you were speaking to, but RL was always 5th in the football codes (a long way behind American Football) when I lived there for 26 years. An NRL team in Tasmania has about as much chance as an AFL team in Iceland. Rugby League wasn't hated, it just wasn't known to exist unless a student from NSW or Qld was in the room. An AFL team in Tasmania can also never happen, but that's a financial thing rather than a complete ignorance of the sport. A-League maybe, but even that relatively small financial commitment is right on the brink of what the state can sustain.

Dave The world is a smaller place now with the internet and modern communication ... the other day at work I had to smile we were having a meeting .. I was in Sydney... others were in Brisbane...NZ... Fiji ... US & Canada ... all from PC's using head phones and a mike worth about $ 90.00... on freeware software... Dave in Australia RU has few players and without the training academies provided by the private schools would struggle to beat Fiji... Australian rugby is a totally different kettle of fish to NZ rugby... Having worked in NZ I have some understanding how much rugby means to many people and how it is the peoples game... in Australia, rugby is a game for the elite in the main and has only isolated pockets where there is even an interest in it... Dave I can also see your point about the media but what passes for truth in NZ does not necessarily make it correct... As CC has said for yonks the French and others and many Australian RU folk were paid... Whats it all mean I am not sure but that RU in NZ is pure does not mean RU the world over shares that same purity...BUT without doubt in Australia there is a code war going on .... the AFL are spending over 200 million dollars in establishing two teams .... RL is on the re bound and wants to claim it's title back as the country's number one sport... RU is trying to stay in the match and JON got his way with the fifth Australian team in the Super competition... and finally football has emerged from 70 years of mis management to try and stake out its claim... The winner will be the code with the highest TV ratings... NOW ... NOW ... before NZ was unimportant in these ratings but in the internet world we live in today they are... NZ & PNG have just over 10 million people or about the same amount as Vic, SA, WA, Tas & NT combined.... meaning for RL & Football they can rate in NZ giving them one up on the AFL... Given the AFL are the best managed code in Australia they also want a share of a pie they have previously ignored... Meaning IMO a huge push by especially RL & Football into NZ with attention to detail and planning the like NZ rugby has never had to experience... with the AFL playing catch up and acting as a spoiler in many ways... My overall premise is a second team in NZ and I think Christchurch would help a lot...for either football or RL ... but Football is restricted by the Asian / Oceania thinky.. So Dave get ready over in NZ for rugby to get some real management competition ... and rest assured that RL & AFL will use their media connections in Australia to help their cause... meaning media coverage of RL & AFL in NZ will increase despite want many in NZ want.... a good point I think you made earlier was loose control of your media and you could loose a lot... Essentially Dave NZ has become an important ratings area for the code war in Australia...

Still saying the same 'elitist' tag of RU i see cross coder. Yea.. All us samoans in Samoa drive SUV's and such.... You keep saying its a exclusive sport but still ignore the countries of which it is played in. Very one eyed view.

djfrobinson I disagree,it is not just two sports in fact there are 4 sports in this country competing for the fans dollar,media space etc and that includes soccer and ru. We live in a world that is drawn closer together due to speedy travel.speedy media and distance is becoming more and more meaningless.I am afraid NZ as part of this planet falls into that category. Australian sports!!!!,we are told by AFLpeople is an English sport,by ru people an offspring " bastardised" version of their sport.Rugby league just happens to be a popular sport in Australia. Then what is a RWC03 (not an OP games with a multitude of sports) being held in a country,where it is no 3 in the pecking order,and the media provides forests of print and the coal mines provide plenty of coal for electicity for the electronic media to promote it to the entire country.Can that be classified as shoving something down the throats of a country.The head organising ARU offical,not someone down the line of officials stated ATT that ru would overtake rl in Australia. Again I state having a rl and ru team in Victoria,is that not trying to ram those sports down the throat of the Victorians ,who love AFL. About the same amount tha the Qld cup gets in NZ papers i would assume when you mention the ITM. I undertstand there is a Warriors under 20 side in the G/F ,i guess but i may be wrong NZ youngsters dominate that team.I guess but I may be wrong the NRL has a bigger interest if you combine Oz with NZ than the ITM. I also suggest the Tv ratings for rl by Sky NZ) I believe owned by News,gives sufficient reason to provide the column space. You rightly stated the S14 is a combination of 3 countries.The NRL combines 2 using your analogy.So my comparison is justified.You would have no doubt reason to quibble if there were no NZ side in the NRL.The pop of 4million plus therefore justifies having an NRL team and rl media coverage there ,and it has has more of a history of the game,than the likes of Victoria,SA and WA and it has many players of NZ origin from within its ranks. The Bledisloe cup judging by the ratings and the media coverage in the Sydney media, by comparison more media than expected.In fact it was a decent game to watch,and received excellent print and electronic coverage.When the rl players switched over to ru,and also when the Tahs were going great guns,the Sydney media gave more than a fair share of coverage. Why play 4 Bledisloe games,that is ramming it down the throats of other countries such as part of China(HK),all in the name of filling the ARU?NZRU coffers. it all boils down to the fact,if there is interest regardless of the size of a country,media will take note.

Dave. The money went on spreading the game,and not into the pockets of the players.They were the last to be considered ,and only got what they should have 100 years late.You don''t have to be 120 or a rocket scientist to know that. Where do you think the term shamateurism came from champ,it was used in France ,Wales and to a lesser extent in Oz .Go to the Welsh rl site and the iRB knew about French shennanikins about payments.If rl in France was struggling due to non recognition,and they could earn more playing ru ,they went.Players still go today. Not being a Labor supporter ,I had no time for Lange from this side of the ditch. I am quoting what he said He was a NZedder I am not .He noted without visble means of support,meaning those players no doubt who were not lawyers etc.I didn't make the quote he did.If the same had happened in reverse,you would have been on this thread quoting him.You love quotes when it suits you.He wasn't IMO specifying a particular player, Show me the BS LOL .Ask Roy Masters as if I am going to name names on a pubblic forum and get sued.If you steadfastly believe there was no money changing hands in ru in the amateur days,when the French were doing it blatantly,when Campese joked about it,when the Welsh official website noted it,when people in club ru talked about boot money,you are living on another planet.I have actually watched a few club ru games in the past at the old Hurstville Oval. Now you are quoting Gareth Morgan,when we are talking NZ players.Sheesh. Funny you should talk about history,when i bring it up ,you are the one doing the crying or denying,all I am doing is citing the past.You can't wipe history from the records,much as you would like to.I am more than happy with the rl expansion work being done with funds available and the hard work of the volunteers and a few paid people.History is part of who we are,get used to it. The same gent who predicted the RLWC08 wouldn't go ahead ,then it wouldn't make money.The silence was deafening after that,when the opposite happened.Track record not so good champ. Know a little history about your game and rl.In the formative years the elite schools in England and Australia ,excluded rl,as they still do,regardless of what happens in Tonga Samoa or Outer Baluchistan.Because the elite schools tag is always brought up by the educators and ru is the rugby code played exclusively,hence the elite title.Elite is the word meaning "reagarded as the best " ,these schools believe as do many they are the best ,and charge accordingly.

For 100 years when you were around you knew all the in and outs of rugby all over the world. Stop making excuses and BS up mate. The money went to where it counts the most (developments) and thats why its a bigger sport worldwide than league. Speaking on behalf of the players now CC. Those All Blacks players will never have left had rugby league clubs in England develop their own players and not show them the money. First it was the French now its the Welsh. Wow it took you five minutes to come up with that. Where's your link on French and Welsh players getting paid? Or is this another David Lange reference? You quotes are those of disgruntle leaguies like David Lange. Im sure he knew those All Blacks were doctors, lawyers, farmers, accountants who were always treated with respect in NZ. I work with many All Backs and let me tell you they did the 9 to five like any of us. Im sure the top Irish gaelic footballers and hurling players are all driving bombs and wearing clothes from the Salvation Army. All you have is refence from this person and this person and a quote from here and there and someone building a new house. I didn't know building a new house was against the law or law of rugby. LINKS PLEASE From memory and there are many of those "from memory" on your posts. John Kirwan played rugby as a junior as welll and Garrick Morgan played league most of his junior years. Crying and sook over history is one thing but make up BS to go along with history is another. We had many league players who came and played club rugby in Auckland and I must say I didn't see them put in a corner or ban from paying or attending the club house. Plenty of countries played the game CC. Exclusivity in private schools? Plenty of them in NZ, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Wales, Italy, Scotland.

Crosscoder 2 Australian sports fighting it out for top dog in Australia has little to do with the NRL attempt to shove their sport down the throats of entire country. I ask you, when was the last time you saw a report about the New Zealand ITM cup in a Australian Newspaper. Lets face it Union in Australia MIGHT get half a page on page 34, but the rest of the pages are all about the league. In New Zealand, League and Union get equal exposure, I'm from Wellington and the Dominion Post gives as much attention to Australian league as it does NZ Rugby Union. Why do you think this is? New Zealand should be mindful of their national code and the invasion coming from Australian League, and even the AFL have had a few thoughts of pushing their goods into our little country. The Super-14 is different, this is not a competition that is run purely by New Zealand, it's a equal partnership between 3 and soon to be 4 nations, yes Australia is a minor player in Rugby but still supports a big enough population to justify the interest. As for the Bledisole cup, that's a international and probably one of the biggest rugby games of the year yet if it was schedled next to the SOO, how much media coverage do you think it would get ? Thanks

Dave. Whatever!!!!! What the: looking at ch9 this morning,you wouldn't think there was an NRL G/F on,most of the coverage was in Melbourne. OK the NRL is not your competiton.1) you don't have to watch it,no one is twisting your arm .2)If no one wants it,the Warriors will get no one at their ground.3) if no one cares Sky News wouldn't spend the money on Tv contracts. 4)As ru is the national code of NZ,and rl is so small,why should you worry about the coverage,it is therefore hardly a threat. ATM there is no major ru comp apart from the internal in NZ. We have had the Swans here for 30 years and have had pages devoted to the code,and a street parade.We have lived with it.What isgetting a lot of people offside is a 2nd side getting so much govt financial support,when one club already here. And what makes you think the Chinese want a 4th Bedisloe rammed down their throats.It is just a money making exercise for the ARU and NZRU. .I had ru shoved down my throat for years at school,I lived with it and played it there.I get it shoved down my throat when the Bledisloe is on here, with the media. It is therefore OK for SA and NZ S14 sides to get media space in Sydney and Brisbane papers,but not the NRL to get space in the NZ media.Very strange logic. When theS14 is on I have noticed on sky news(NZ one) ) have pay,,the ru is first on,then the netball and then the NRL. NB the very day I lobbed into Auckland,I was taken by my wife's cousin around Eden park. He noted this is where the real rugby is played,not that other rubbish.I grinned and said nothing.,just bit my lip.

Katipo We live in a free enterprise system Oz and NZ,competition is healthy,unless you like the Nth Korean model. For 100 years ru administrators in some countries, lined the code's and at times some officials pockets,whilst the poor old players got zilch.The players from NZ did what any sensible person would do to better himself financially,go to a code with a good chance of adapting and being paid for services. At least the French ru and at times the Welsh paid their players or some of them.The French were good at it and were able to poach rl players from rl clubs. .And it was a former NZ PM by the name of David Lange who made the classic quote about AB players "Ït never ceases to amaze me ,seeing these players with no visible means of syupport,running around in the finest clothes and driving decent cars". Or a Mr Campese who made the trip to Italy,buying olives or perchance some lire was in the offing.Yep the good ole days of amateurism. Maybe you didn't hear about the Wallaby many years ago,who we are led to believe was offered a huge sum to switch to a high profile rl club.He declined ,but very shortly bought a nice home unit.Roy Matsres has even noted the story. From memory Kirwan had a junior rl background or at least played the game in the juniors ,as no doubt many others did. And you can therefore understand whilst there are no doubt ru fans despise rl because of the poaching,there are rl fans who are not exactly fans enamoured with ru,because of French ru collusion in getting rid of the game for a few years,the poaching of rl players in France,the denial of entry into the armed services in Britain due to ru pressure,the treatment of players who dared play rl in the early 20th century by ru officials and fans or the exclusivity in private schools. .It is a two way street.

Whatever crosscoder. Like many on here have said we have the a NRL shove down our throats when its not our competition and the NZ papers have jump on the bandwagon. Many leaguies always complain why AFL news always shown in Sydney and Brisbane TV news and that there's too much AFL in the papers in those states. Well helllo! I hope leaguies come to NZ because we have had that for over 20 years now with Australia league.

Dave .The police have stated the investigations are ongoing.They don't do their work, based on what the NRL wants.if the media got a sniff,it would be out on the front page. Anyone involved ,if it is true and can be shown to be,will be banned for life. Anycase what has betting scandals to do with this thread.Another left fielder. Your comment that the Oz media might have control over the NZ media content (rl that is),is the biggest load of crapola I have read anywhere.If there is any indicretion, it is out loud and clear, the Telegraph and Herald and in NZ papers.Gregor Paul sure knew a lot about the Storm salary cap scandal,and staed his usual piece in NZ. Midfielder Dave's example has nothing to do with ownership,stories are stories and rl gets no favours if you open your peepers.Dave is hunting for rl shadows, behind every door.

Midfielder, rl has been competing intensely with ru in nz for quite some time now. There was a period in the early '90's, before ru became professional, where about 100 first class nz ru players were poached by arl & brit league clubs. Remember John Gallagher, Matthew Ridge, Darryl Halligan, John Schuster, John Kirwan, Mark Brooke-Cowden, Craig Innes, John Timu, Inga Tuigamala, Frano Botica and so on and so on - all poached. (that's actually why so many ru people dispise league - they remember league's poaching raids). If those poaching raids don't constitute intense competition then what would?

The NZ media issue is somewhat concerning as the Australian media is also becoming increasingly overseas owned ... Dave has a point his examples may be a tad poor ... but I can see were he is coming from... But my main point still remains NZ RU has had little intense competition from either RL or Football and this has protected RU ...

Yes Dave, no coverage at all....time to take off the tin hat, methinks www.stuff.co.nz/sport/league/4109597/Betting-NRL-players-to-get-life-bans-Gallop www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10677119

I don't know why the Australian own media in New Zealand is not covering the NRL betting story if rumors are true. I suspect that the NRL and News limited have put a lid on it till after the final on sunday. If its true then this is evidence that the Australian media have huge control in New Zealand.

Again Dave I am getting extremely tired of you misquoting me.I have stated NZ is not ready for a 2nd NZ team(there is no current bid),not now,maybe in the future.I spelt it out again to another poster Crazy. In fact the priorities should be C.C./Perth/Central Qld/2nd Brisbane side/Adelaide/and PNG,before any NZ side(unless there is an overwhelming offer) as the game's priorities. I am also one of those people who went nuts over the state govt money(which is as broke as a church mouse) spending millions firstly on the Blacktown training centre ,then large sums on the new facility at the Showground,when there is a perfectly good facility at Homebush.I understand why the AFL is doing this. To try to compare the huge expenditure made in rl and socccer heartland by a state govt for another code,with @ the nonsensical thinking there will shortly another NRL club in NZ and b) the promotional/marketing trip by Cronulla with B...all Govt expenditure is plain ludicrous.It is a one off annual trip in NZ.That is all,not tens millions of dollars expended on new stadiums Why does the ARU/NZRU promote their game(a 4th Bledisloe) in Hong Kong when they could just as easliy go to SA or Argentina.Its called exposure and promotion.If codes adopted your approach,ru would only be in England,AFL stuck in the Sthn and western states,and rl in NTh England and NSW/QLD.It certainly does beat you,promotion that is.

Crazy I am not one who believes setting up another team ATM in NZ is a good idea.It won't happen,so don't worry. .I have stated many times,that expansion should be into Perth and CC.I am therefore of the firm belief,that NZ is not ready for many years for anorther NRL team.Officials of the code in that country need to get off their backsides and grow the game(that is what the Sparc mob wants),before any further expansion is contemplated. The NRL champ is not that arrogant.It is not their deceision but clubs and bidding clubs. The NRL at all times seek expressions of interest in setting up an NRL team.They do not go into NZ and say you must,we need have a team in Auckland.It was not the ARL's decison at the time.The bid came from NZ,by NZedders in Auckland.In fact any bid has now to be thoroughly tested in many ways ,after earlier debacles.There were in fact many people who follow rl in Oz,who were dirty that an NZ team was included in an Oz comp. So it is OK for AFL teams to go to London,for Bledisloe teams to go to Hong Kong or Japan .It is OK for Oz taxpayers who do not all follow ru,pay for grants and monies towards the 2003WC promotions and events and for non rl people to pay for RLWC08 promotion.Its all about selling a country or area. And I guess the AFL people could well argue,why should the NRL and the ru have teams in Melbourne,when AFL is a religion there.,same in Perth.Why shouldn't people be given a choice.I am not thrilled about GWS in Sydney in traditional rl and soccer heartland,but we have to get on with life.It may fail,it may succeed.My taxpayers money sent to the state govt,helped pay for their new facility. I will repeat the club game to Taupo,according to the NZ organisers of Real Fun Events is not going to cost the ratepayer.Surely you want tourists from oz,to travel over and watch the game.""The economics of it"" .For the Sharks a no brainer,for the organiser well he is on the ground there,I can only rely on his/their judgement. All football codes get govt grants ,certainly Federal govt grants for senidng teams overseas(junior teams),and for at times infrastructure projects.eg RL/Ru/soccer and the GC and likewise in Victoria.The Fed govt does not provide grants for NRL clubs to cover travel expenses.