NRL Commission needs 'dinosaurs'

I dont generally agree with pokies, but i will play them from time to time, but they are not illegal and can be a source of entertainment for many people, and most people are usually pretty responsible. Collingwood may make some money from them, but on the other hand Collingwood FC really undertake many community programs, so they are not all bad. http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/community%20programs/tabid/8244/default.aspx I think historically RL clubs rely on poker machines far more than AFL clubs, although i think Souths have banned polies, but historically have recieved grants from South Sydney juniors who have them.

Here is some more AFL pokie dependance... Taxpayers footing Magpies' pokie bill Mark Russell October 10, 2010 THE Collingwood Football Club has used a legal loophole to get taxpayers to help cover $2.7 million it spent on running the club and its pokies venues in the past year, describing the operating costs as a ''community benefit''. But the club's five poker machines venues - which brought in almost $23 million in revenue - made no community benefit payments to the elderly or the poor in 2009-10, documents filed with the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation show. Over the past year, Collingwood rose to the top of the pokies ladder, raising $10 million more than the next most lucrative club, Essendon. Collingwood is one of nine Melbourne-based AFL clubs allowed to claim a tax break of 8.3 per cent on pokies revenue if they can prove they are spending at least that much on community initiatives. But under a loophole, clubs can claim payments to players and officials, as well as some venue running costs, as a benefit to the community. Three of Collingwood's venues - the Club at Caroline Springs, the Coach and Horses at Ringwood and the International at Lilydale - submitted statements to the commission on September 30 that claimed the Magpies spent $2.9 million on the community in 2009-10, including $2.7 million on ''operating costs'', of which $2.16 million was for wages. The Magpies' statements show the venues contributed almost nothing to the 12 listed philanthropic categories of community benefit, including the relief of poverty, educational scholarships, protection of the environment, and services to treat problem gambling. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/taxpayers-footing-magpies-pokie-bill-20101009-16d37.html

He is the past. Greenberg, Searle and Florimo are the future.

It's a bit rich trying to take the high moral ground on the back of the AFL's views of pokies. Many AFL teams have been just as committed to gambling as the NRL clubs, even if it isn't their main form of income. This is from the Courier-Mail: "Uproar at Brisbane Lions' pokie palace James O'Loan The Courier-Mail June 05, 2008 BRISBANE Lions Football Club is pushing to build a ``pokie palace'' in Logan Shire, arguably the problem gambling capital of Queensland. The multimillion-dollar club has lodged an application with Logan City Council to build an indoor entertainment facility with up to 200 poker machines, a bar, dining room and merchandise/bottle shop in the Springwood commercial zone overlooking the Pacific Motorway. The decision was made after 130 possible sites were investigated during more than six years and, pending approvals, doors could open by mid-2010. The site, nor details of the large-scale facility, were intended to be publicly announced for months. Anti-gambling groups say the number of poker machines will inflict further` damage on the local community." http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/uproar-at-lions-pokie-den/story-e6freoof-1111116540724 Attempting to put 200 poker machines in one of SEQld's lowest socio-economic areas is not something that should be applauded, and thanks goodness it wasn't approved. Change is taking place in the NRL. The NRL have started to focus on memberships over the last 3 years which will reduce the reliance of pokies for the clubs.

you've gotta be joking Jason.. arkos gone .. let it go...the same reason why i wouldn't have ribot involved..where's the Independence in that..plus we're talking dinosaurs.. not something from the Devonian period..

ah, that would be great and the IC could play the role of the ARL under arko and not give two hoots about any team not from the Sydney basin. Why don't we sign an exclusive tv rights deal for the next 50 years with channel nine as well...

I reckon the I.C. should have Ken Arthurson as its chairman. Arko would be the perfect man to steer the commission through the early years of its formation, seeing he was in charge of the Australian Rugby League from 1984-1997. The only question is, would Arthurson have a good working relationship with the CEO of the NRL, David Gallop?

Wayne is the personification of occam’s razor. He looks inside the square for the simple and obvious solution whilst everyone else runs around trying to reinvent the wheel and out innovate each other.

HF the one thing that your business background should also remind you of is that a commercial entity is solely about monetising its core competency or value proposition. The biggest mistake many people make is assuming that the NRL is selling 2 hour long slots of entertainment. Yes that is a vital part of the product offering but the core competency or value proposition is tribal attachment to either the club or the sport. So how do you monetise that attachment you hold football matches selling the TV rights and tickets. You sell memberships to deepen the attachment, you sell sponsorship to allow other brands to leverage off that attachment and also having a retail market at hand you sell food, drink and gambling. So don’t be so quick to disregard the value of relying on these revenue streams as being beyond the mandate of a football club. The reason the AFL has done so well is due to a confluence of factors. Not the least of which is the way they follow sport (also that their product is more saleable to television). Despite being in the same country there are cultural differences in how we follow sport in the various cities. Sydney as Australia’s big brother with a genuine financial centre and international feel is a lot more tenuous when it comes to forming these attachments. Can we change how the Sydney market behaves? Perhaps but that will take a long time and changing your market should be a nice to have not a must have. It is why I cringe at the expand or bust mentality as building the kind of attachment required for success is a measured and long term process that shouldn’t be entered into lightly and should never be entered into for reasons of ego, hubris will destroy us. But I do agree that the “dinosaurs” need to be represented given that they understand the cultural attachments. Also the game has been run quite well absent the TV rights deal which everyone forgets the AFL trumped us with a very risky policy that could have back fired. We are not in a position to monetise the growth and as per usual the rank and file in rugby league are doing everything they can to undermine it. (I apologise for any typos etc - I haven't proof read)

They have a dinosaur running the A-league, plus a afl ceo, look how well thats going at the moment. Dont talk to me about dinosaurs. :) I want young minds, people like Seale, Greenberg, and maybe even Wayne Bennett if he is available. He got the kiwis over the line to grow the game. Yes Wayne is old, but he thinks outside the square, always has, and would keep the young guys on their toe's. If he was running the game 20 years ago, instead of coaching, where would we be today. ?

We need a independent commission who main goal is the growth of the goal and not have any conflict of interest at all. They need to be forward thinking,innovative,creative,smart critical decision makers. Memberships should of being along time ago not just recently, the IC needs to help more league forward in a productive manner.

I could write a little idea on PNG, but this is possitive thinking, so it might happen with-in the next 20 years, get the Government to build a world class stadium, they are now playing the Pacific cup over their, so build the sucker. And once it is built, take some games over their, Cronulla Cowboys, or Storm Cowboys, but at least give them something. And keep going at it until fans in PNG are ready to support a team. But at least start something. They already play the PM13 up their each year, at a dumpy little stadium, i think its time to show them how a real stadium and game looks. This is just one idea. Their are hundreds needed to work on. And dont even get me started on Origin, it needs to change, somehow, but should be looked at now, not 10 years time when we find out it needs to change.

No to dinosaurs, thats for sure. As i said, Dinosaurs should learn to step aside, let new minds run the game. I cant remember all my posts about the subject, but anyone who reads them knows how i feel about dinosaurs, they had a go, their time is gone, so lets get on with growing the game, fresh ideas. Just to give you a idea, here is some examples, Memeberships, wow, what a great idea, they are growing them, but should that not have happened 10 years ago. ? Salary cap, great, but as Gallop found out, you have to grow the cap or do something outside the cap to keep our players in the game. Expansion, yes, needs to happen, but should have happened years ago. I.C, took a kick in the guts to even think about having this, again, the Dinosaurs as you say are so out of touch, all these ideas are from pressures from other codes on the NRL. So the dinosaurs are just putting things right now, so once they are in place, we are 10 years behind again. I want modern thinkers, someone who says, yes, we now have this, so lets look at new ideas, and here are some, not sit back for the next 10 years to find out we are now another 10 years behind again. Please, no more posts on Dinosaurs, nothing up-sets me more. I want a independent commish that sets out new ideas, not rehashed rubbish. I want fresh minds, not another attempt by Ribot to introduce rugby league into China, lets get rugby league on T/V into China, thats a start. Just on that Fahey report, i found another point in which i rolled my eyes, the stripping rule. So he wants to go back to either a scrappy game where all players will be doing in every tackle is ripping and tearing at the ball. Mate, to me thats a dinosaur moving backwards, what is he trying to do, recreate the neanderthral. Let the Dinosaurs do some speaches, and research for the game, write books reminise, do something possitive, but dont try to take the game backwards.

I think John Ribot should have a role in the IC..... Now let the hate mail come in!!!! lol

Good article. Organised gambling (as opposed to just a few bucks between mates) contributes aboslutely nothing useful to society, and it is shameful that clubs in this day and age are relying on them to survive.

In fact there will be more than likely former rl people with a bit of nous,involved in the I.C. eg Steve Price,Mike Cleary,Kevin Ryan.You have to have people on board also with not only a feel for the game,but involvement for a long time. As to the point on what makes a club. It is correct the fans and not poker machines nor buildings.Saying that, your example of Cronulla,who happen to own and utilise their own assets ,not council or govt grounds,means they will be in a position to realise the value of those land assets. Having money will give them an opportunity to build decent addtional stadiums and cover ,for long suffering fans.Unless you have been to the ground on a wet miserable evening ,with little cover,it is easy to understand why more than afew fans steer clear.More so the families.So the reason for survival is firstly securing funds to then build the facilities, that fans will use in greater numbers.In fact the Sharks have become far less independent on poker machine revenue than just about all the club.They may end up being the first club,in no need of such dreaded bandits. It is also true about the AFL and memberships,but poker machine money is now making its presence felt within that code.The other big advantage is having games played in a couple of centralised locations,with first class facilities.Sydney is spread every which way by comparison ad some of the grounds are 3rd world by comparison. I am also of th belief that casinos,should be given the flick.They are IMO money laundering citadels for some let us say not so wlecome members of society..

I htink John Fahey would be a good candidate for one of the positions..also john Quayle,and Katie Paige.