Why the NRL's 2011 season launch missed the mark

I will! I just have to get one first - and there are three different styles available too..

Broad based in that he writes on various codes ,agreed.Deep knowledge limited to one or two ,it would appear,certainly not rugby league.His no win situation for rugby league is again off the mark. If he had done any basic research,he would have noted that NRL memberships in Sydney re running at record levels. If he had noted the term öur house"has been used by NZ warrrior fans for years. The ad is intended for all clubs home grounds. If having Bon Jovi and his universal appeal is somehow swamped by a GWS presence being felt,then Hinds may be on to something. His article on the Storm a couple of years ago,showed me exactly how little research he appears to engage in,when he implied the club was doing little development work. The fact the AFL is prepared to spend $20m pa in Sydney for GWS,is a form of sabre rattling,from another perspective. It is hardly a softly softly approach,but Hinds in typical style cannot see past his allegiences.That type of expenditure is a threat small though it may be in the totality of Sydney,simply by the sheer weight of monies involved. If it means that the CEO and an advertising campaign has shown a popular code is finally prepared to stand up and be counted,instead of the lameness of the past,it would appear it is a win situation.Regardless of a presence from a cashed up competitor.

irrespective of Richard Hinds' usual topic.....and to be fair, he normally is fairly broadly based in his writing and is hardly an AFL specialist, seemingly more the person most likely to for the SMH into that market, but, irrespective, the point is that this ad was proclaimed in the press and by some as a strike right back at the AFL.......however, of course, the officials tried to pour cold water on that. So, from the Hinds article perspective, it should be no surprise that Gallop et al didn't mention the 'war', but, if you read this paragraph, you see clearly that Hinds is having a healthy dig at BOTH the AFL and NRL : "It has become no-win situation for rugby league, whose sabre-rattling has played into the AFL's hands. And another victory for the provocative strategy devised by the AFL's large Ministry of Information and enacted with relish by the Giants coach/provocateur Kevin Sheedy. By creating the impression that it is a threat to the NRL, a team that will not kick a Sherrin in anger for a year has already made its presence felt."

as an AFL follower, I would like to extend the olive branch and say that I reckon Benji was pretty justified and is being treated poorly and the media is......as per usual, trying to fan the flames into Scandalville. btw - in the good old days, big tough footballers could give an idiot a clip behind the ears, heck, so could the police for that matter, and the balance of order was retained (or so it seemed). Not so these days. Society may get it's wish and force footy players to live in cocoons which society with then bemoan.

And the event has grown bigger sinse that time. 1993 was 18 years ago, by the time the next one comes around, our market should be well mature. Hopefully we get to see another one. Thanks.

And which sport is Richard Hinds indeed passionate about,and it is not the one which had the launch.

Richard Hinds perspective: http://www.smh.com.au/afl/afl-news/silent-treatment-gives-giants-big-kickalong-20110305-1bire.html

"Gallop earns every cent he earns…every cent…" He heads a committee but wants to do everything himself to make sure nobody else gets any face time before the IC selects it's leaders. Lord Gallop even ignores the need for a review committees and acts as sole judge, jury and executioner. Time for him to be sacked, need somebody that looks after the players and clubs as well as the money. Need somebody who can delegate rather than a deluded control freak.

Simply the best? Nah Hoodoo Guru's What's my Scene was best ever.

oikee A couple of reasons, I reckon: 1. Australia is already hosting the Asian Cup in 2015, which should keep the good folk at FFA busy enough that year. 2. Australia has already hosted the FIFA u20 WC twice - in 1981 & 1993 - and is the only country to have hosted twice. So, a third time would be a bit greedy - reckon we can spread the love to our comrades across the ditch! Since we hosted our 2nd u20 WC in 1993 there have been 8 further FIFA u20 WCs (they are held every 2 years) and the Aussie 1993 WC has the 3rd highest average match attendance in this 18 year period - we got bigger crowds than when the u20 WC was in Holland & Argentina.

There was no single player last year, as a response to the Brett Stewart and Greg Inglis stuff from 2009.

Hey Fussball, while you are here, can i ask you why Australia did not try to get the under 20 world cup. I see NZ won the bid. Makes sense to host this instead of trying to win a world cup bid we might never see. This would have been huge, watched by half a billion i read. Rugby league is happy to be watched by 2 men and a dog at our world cup. :) It's getting better. Slowly. P.S i see the A-League final will be a sellout. The ticket prices were nicely priced for a final. Well done.

Seeing that the ad is aimed at football people in Adelaide, it's probalby neither here or there what people from outside of the city think.

GoGWS. No need to bring the Marshall issue up,for a bit of code point scoring,pot and kettle comes into play otherwise. Maybe you should read a bit as to why he was in town ,attending a Cancer function for kids which finished at midnight. It has been alleged he was racially taunted not once.This is not the first time he has received such abuse.Hitting people is an offence,so is racial vilification.Leave the court to settle the matter. I agree with your last para,kids should be given the opportunity to play other codes,and that is why i am for a perth team in the NRL,and down the line an Adelaide one.

I've got to say I found the NRL ad very catchy and inspiring when I saw it this morning on Offsiders. By contrast the AFL ad (they're doing different ones for each State) for SA was, shall we say, uninspiring ... http://www.abc.net.au/sport/offsiders/ (AFL ad at 2:00 on the video clip). And, as Brisbane Roar coach, Ange Postecoglou observed: "we (in the A-Leauge) would love to be able to discuss the merits of a good/bad advertisement" ... maybe next for seasons's launch the FFA will create an ad and, we can only pray, they'll NEVER again use the morons, who were responsible for that rubbish they dished up to the FIFA ExCo ... My advice to the creative geniuses in the advertising profession ... when you want to stimulate the creative juices, perhaps, try splashing cold water on your face; rather than immediately powdering your nose? ;-)

I also forgot to mention, you would get 20 thousand Members getting prime Bronco Members seats as well. This would become a frenzied affair. Best seats in the house. Our house. :)

The NRL have a big marketing push, featuring a popular pop band, they're at least trying something, and I wish them all the best. I have to admit, it's not a song I'm familiar with, but anyway, once the season starts proper, it's neither here or there.

Racism needs to be stamped out, Benji needs a body guard, and a Hummer. :)

I mostly agree with you Luke. Rugby league needs to now make up for lost time, we struggled for the last 16 years trying to rebuild our game. Now we have to start selling this wonderful product around the world. The skills of the players are second to none, also we need to stop worrying about damm crowds. I mentioned this last year, the game is what i focus on, every game is high quality, the crowds are a after-thought. This competition should be shown in every country around the world, the standard is that good. Hopefully this is the commission's main aim. Also, if W.A and S.A dont wish to be part of game, lets not worry about that, our docks are the east coast, they do have television in those 2 states, this is all we need. Show the game over their for 5-10 years, then ask them again if they want a team. NZ should have first choice of a second team before any other area. The time zones are also favorable with t/v. This is also where most of our future stars will be born. You only have to look at how many under 20 players got signed up with NRL clubs. Rugby league is our game, well north of the Barassi line anyhow. This is something that AFL cant quite get their head around. Rugby league might have been born in 1895, but it is Australia that has shaped the game and rules over the last 100 years. We embraced indigernous players and Polynesian players many long moons ago. We might not have huge membership numbers thus far, we will have, what we do have is fans who are still passionate without being members. The Broncos have over 1 million fans. You cant have 1 million fully paid up members. Brisbane is a must for another team. To have 2 teams playing out of Suncorp each week, with another massive sponser package for Brisbane is not even a thinking point. It has to happen. You would be a fool to knock this back. Brisbane is now muture enough for a second team, plus it would shore up Brisbane as a rugby league capital. It's a no brainer. Another team in central Queensland, the Bears back and a second NZ team by 2020 and you have the game sown up. The only way another team could be formed would be with a massive amount for a relocation bid, which could happen one day.

Stewart was in 2009 GoGWS. Not 2010. Benji did a speech at the launch. He can't undo the launch. Benji isn't all over the NRL commercial the way Stewart was. I dount they will air brush out Benji when most people think he was severely provoked. Your logic about Izzy is just the same as the NRL must have had last week. It's a good idea so long as nothing goes wrong with the player off the field. "and when GWS get some key drafts Izzy won’t be the centre of the GWS campaign either". As if anyone in Sydney will know any of those players! The AFL is playing the same high risk game with Izzy you have criticised the NRL for with Benji. It's Izzy all the way for GWS marketing in Sydney for the next 3 years. One stuff up or controversy and we'll see.