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Israel Folau speaks to the media during a conference announcing that he will switch codes and join Greater Western Sydney AFL club at Blacktown Olympic Park.
Over the last 10 to 15 years, the NRL has been plagued by infighting and political instability, which has considerably weakened its strategic focus. In this period, it has sat idle and let the AFL play hard ball in its core markets (New South Wales and Queensland), even though the AFL has no real market power in these states.
Part of the problem facing the NRL is the perception that it is the victim and helpless to defend itself against the AFL’s advance into the northern markets. This is not helped by the fact that there is no united front in rugby league and our leaders seem to have a fixation with playing out every drama in the media. Over time perceptions become reality, and now there are even people in rugby league circles that believe the NRL will not be able to defend itself or grow its product in the face of intense competition from the AFL.
As a die-hard rugby league fan, I find this current position hard to fathom. It is a constant frustration that the NRL has been passive while the AFL has been busy selling its story uncontested even when some of the information being released appears questionable to most rugby league supporters. I speak on behalf of all rugby league fans when I say enough is enough.
Now that the Independent Commission (IC) has been signed off on, the NRL needs to think seriously about its current strategic position and how it wishes to be perceived in the Australian marketplace. If the NRL’s primary objective is to be the number one sport in Australia (as I would like it to be), then it must improve its image and be dominant in its approach towards any aggression shown by any of its competitors.
If I was CEO of the NRL, the first thing that I would do is acknowledge that the AFL represents no real threat in NSW or Queensland. Most AFL consumers already know this, but I feel that this sentiment needs to be pushed harder by the NRL as a show of strength in our product and the leadership within our game.
The reality in this battle for ‘the hearts and minds of Australians’ is that the AFL derives its corporate muscle from its dominance in Victoria. This dominance does not extend to NSW or Queensland. In those states this code is third to rugby league and rugby union. Rugby league’s primary competitor is rugby union. Always has and most likely always will be. The AFL has done a fantastic job in punching above its weight in NSW and Queensland, but the NRL must not be misled into putting all of its energy into competing against a product in its primary markets when there is bigger competition from a more established player.
So as a strategic response, how does the NRL solidify its primary markets while looking to further advance its own market footprint? The first thing that the NRL should do is look to limit the AFL’s exposure where it can in its primary markets.
The AFL has a large marketing budget but a limited market profile in NSW and Queensland. This is supported by the AFL recently resorting to publicity stunts such as the Folau and Hunt acquisitions in an effort to gain valuable market exposure. To the AFL’s credit, these acquisitions have been very successful and the costs of purchasing these elite athletes have been repaid many times over. This however is now old news and the story is only surviving by parties within the NRL continuing to bring it up when they should just let it go.
In addressing the need to reduce the AFL’s exposure in NSW and Queensland, I have listed four strategic responses that I believe the NRL should pursue:
1. Hold a press conference and use brutal honesty. Address the strengths of our game and highlight the weaknesses of the opposition in our markets. In other words, tell it like it is. This is the Australian way, and it will be appreciated by the overwhelming majority that want to see our code assert its dominance for once. This is not arrogance as such. It is just putting a right to all the wrongs that have been created out of misrepresentations of information and aggressive advances by our competitor south of the border.
As part of this address, highlight the commitment that the NRL has to its stakeholders; that it is an integral part of the community and that it will continue to play a key role in everyday family life, whether that be through sports and leisure or through its significant community programs. Once this has been done, then the NRL does not talk about or answer questions regarding AFL from that time on – period. Journalists will soon lose interest if they cannot get a headline from any key people in our game. Their only real exposure in NSW and Queensland to date has been off the back of the NRL. This approach will ensure that this strategy will become redundant in the future.
2. Make better use of our market position in NSW and Queensland to lean on our friends in the media and push for more exclusivity in news and in programing. The NRL struggles for exposure in its new markets. This in a large part is underpinned by its competitors wanting to protect their position in those markets. The NRL needs to learn from its competitors.
To date the NRL has to easily allowed the AFL to gain market exposure on our mediums without as much as a whimper. We should be making better use of our market dominance to ensure that news and sports programing in addition to news print suffocate AFL’s exposure in NSW and Queensland. Presently the AFL’s high market exposure in NSW and Queensland is not reflective of its low market penetration rate in these markets, and is coming at the expense of locally entrenched codes such as rugby and soccer.
3. The third point is the most critical and it requires a greater level of commitment to grassroots development. While we are the primary sport we cannot and should not be complacent. We do not need to spend millions of dollars in an effort to coax little kids into playing rugby league. All we need is to ensure that our stars (i.e. Benji Marshall) spend as much time as possible in school clinics and fan days. The NRL’s players are the NRL’s biggest asset when it comes to grassroots development, and this should be utilised as much as possible.
4. The final point should be to take the fight out of our backyard and into the AFL’s. This does not have to be directly through expansion (although desirable), but can be achieved just as easily through grassroots programs and one off NRL games, Internationals and Origins. For those that didn’t know, Melbourne now has just short of 3000 registered rugby league players in their metropolitan leagues. This was quiet surprising to me and shows just how much of an impact the Melbourne Storm has had in its short existence. To date it has been getting double digit growth (percentage) and this does not look like abating anytime soon.
The same is occurring in WA (albeit at a slower growth rate). Presently this state has just over 3000 registered players. Imagine the impact that a new team in the NRL would have on this region, especially given the dramatic change in demographics over the last 10-15 years. If the NRL goes on the offensive it will force the AFL to commit more resources to its own backyard, and hence reduce the corporate power it can devote to our markets.
In summation, the NRL should not underestimate the power of its product and its appeal to the Australian people. It has every right to consider itself the equal of AFL in Australia, and with the right strategy and commitment to growth, I believe that it will be the number one national player in the not to distant future. But before this can happen management needs to stop playing the victim and take our game to the opposition. It is not hard. All it needs is a can do attitude and the sky is the limit for our great game!
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