Chairmen and chief executives from all 16 clubs will meet with NRL CEO David Gallop in Sydney today and you get the sense the wheels of change are in motion. It has been a long and slow march towards the Independent Commission, but with the invitations to the inaugural commissioners reportedly in the mail the signs are good.
There’ll be no shortage of discussion points, with just about everyone in club land keen to find out if they’ll be able to dive head first into a sparkling new, giant sized financial pie.
That will only happen, of course, if Gallop manages to land a billion dollar TV baby. If he can do it without the promise of expansion in 2013 it would surely be the highlight of his time in charge of the game.
But after the spreadsheets are done away with and the pie charts explained there’s a couple of minor issues that should be discussed.
One of them is how the finals series is run.
Former Newcastle and Cronulla five-eighth Matthew Johns, who is now a co-host of 2MMM’s breakfast radio show The Grill Team, raised an interesting point this week.
Johns, speaking about the looming finals series, said week one of the play-offs could use a re-jig.
Johns says the top three teams should be able to choose who they play in week one of the finals with the fourth placed team taking on whoever is left.
The McIntrye system, currently used by the NRL, has plenty of critics and in just over a month the annual debate about its merits will predictably roar to life and dominate print, radio and television.
Whether or not this system is better is also debatable, but it does provide plenty of intrigue.
There’s two ways coaches could approach the situation.
One option would be for the minor premiers to stick to playing the eighth placed side.
The other – less travelled path – would be to choose an opponent on form.
As a supporter of your club would you rather have the man in charge pick an opponent that only just made it into the finals or a team that may have lost three straight and finished fifth or sixth?
It certainly adds a bit of mystery and an extra layer of interest.
At least no-one would be able to complain about being the victim of an unfair process.
Coaches would live and die by their own choices.
Epiquin
Guest
Hearing alot about how this will improve things for clubs and players. But how about the fans?
jamesb
Guest
mick h i agree with you
JCVD
Guest
I definitely agree with your comment. But wouldnt it be better for the NRL and the clubs if they chose games based on finances (i.e a game that would increase gate attendances and an increased revenue)??
Sam
Guest
Add this to REP SEASON: make City vs. Country a 3 game series like Origin (we all know its not a trial for Origin). Introduce QLD City vs. Country as well. Played in regional areas (like it is now). Make ANZAC test on a stand alone weekend (closest to ANZAC day) PLAYER SIGNINGS: Introduce transfer fees to reward clubs that develop their own talent. Have a dedicated mid season transfer window. (ala European Soccer) SALARY CAP: Introduce loyalty bonuses for long serving players at a particular club. After 5 consecutive years=10% bonus. 6yrs=15%. 7yrs=20%, etc. etc. EXPANSION: Add Darwin team to QLD Cup, to build foundations for future NRL admission. Take more games to Adelaide (4/yr). Market to s*** out of it.
Al from ctown
Guest
I understand what your saying hutch, just can't see any good coming from sharing stadiums... Doesn't work now apart from financially... But to the supporter... It's extremely disappointing... Just no heart like leichart has for tigers fans or ctown has for us newish bred magpie supporters... -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
mick h
Guest
james, it doesn't really matter if the nrl get less than the afl. it costs more money to run the afl competition due to more players and expansion teams gc suns and gws. if the nrl achieve somewhere close to 900 to 1 billion it would be fantastic news. the nrl should expand to the central coast and 2nd brisbane side and eventually to a 20 team comp
jamesb
Guest
Whites In the article it said: Asked if he thought the league would be able to MATCH THE $1 BILLION-PLUS DEAL THE AFL GOT from free-to-air and pay TV, Gyngell replied: ''I doubt it, but I would say that. There are other people out there who would say they can. It depends on how hard they work. They are going to have to work hard to get to $1 billion.'' matching the AFL deal of $1.25 billion is IMO out of the question, and I agree with Gyngell. Also the league has to work hard to get the $1 billion deal. Remember in the AFL deal, there was alot negotiations taken place over a long period. The AFL didn't get the $1 billion deal with just a click of a finger. I like to see a combo of NINE, FOX and ONE/ TEN in place, 4 FTA, 5 pay, (if its 9 games a week from 2015) change of subject, here is the Illawarra team of thew century Graeme Langlands Ian Moir Harry Wells jnr Paul McGregor Rod Wishart Bob Fulton Trent Barrett Noel Mulligan Craig Fitzgibbon Ron Costello Craig Young Kevin Schubert Steve Roach Interchange: John Dorahy Shaun Timmins Bruce Olive Ben Creagh Coach: Harry Nolan not a bad side for a region
hutch
Roar Guru
i disagree. im a tigers season ticket holder and we have simply outgrown leichhardt and campbelltown when we play the bigger sydney teams. we should be aiming to get as many people through the gates as possible and i think in the not too distant future our crowd average will be over 25k per home game. we need the bigger stadiums for our bigger games.
Rough Conduct
Guest
The Q Cup is shown by the ABC in Queensland.
Jay
Guest
I wouldnt mind the ABC showing the NSW Premier league or Qld Cup, like they do with the shute shield.
Gaz
Guest
Give it to the ABC and have no adds at all and better commentators. Rugby League is the national football code in Australia and deserves the best. Let the taxpayers support the "greatest Game of All" for the benefit of all.
yewonk
Guest
i would love nine to lose the rights. one live game a week thats all nine do and still they complain about advertising dollars. if he really thinks the only way for new deal is more advertising oportunites then league has no future on nine. there should be at least three live games a week and one delayed coverage. can you belive not only does nine not currently show any games in hd it has no plans to. how many roosters games have been shown this year? its blatant favouritism. andrew voss is the most anoying imature nit picking whinge, i wonder why he bothers watching the game. warren and gould are not much better grunting and moaning about this and that. lewis is the most astute of them all and he gets put on the sideline with an odd commnt while freddy mumbles fittler was in the box. i could go on and on. the whole nine set up is farsical. look at what pap nine play on sunday afternoon, they could play back to back live football games but they would much rather play i dream of jeanie for an hour with twenty minutes of ads. FARSICAL GET RID OG THEM GALLOP.
Horatio
Guest
Incorrect, the NRL borrowed the AFL McIntyre system but the AFL modified theirs by having 1vrs 4 etc rather than 1 vrs 8...
Dean - Surry Hills
Guest
Here's another idea. Firstly, split the top eight into two groups. Poistion 1, 4, 6, 8 - group 1. Position 2, 3, 5, 7- group 2. Week 1 - group 1 - 1 vs 8 and 4 vs 6 (lowest placed loser is knocked out in week 1) -group 2 - 2 vs 7 and 3 vs 5 (lowest placed loser is knocked out in week 1) Week 2 Two highest placed winners from week 1 earn a bye, and hence a weeks rest. Remaining group winners play each other in a knock-out, where the highest placed winner selects the team they would prefer to play to advance to the MSF. Week 3 Major Semi Finals - the highest placed bye team selects a winner from week 2 to play against. Week 4 Grand Final
oikee
Guest
Gidgnell said today we have to get more people watching rugby league more often, ? Duh, show the damm game in all the states Gidge and you will get more, what does he take us for ? suckers. (insert picture here) of the Simpsons baby sucking a dummy.
Dean - Surry Hills
Guest
Incorrect - only the top two are guaranteed a second shot. 2 teams are eliminated in week one, and if positions 8,7,6, and 5 all win - then it's bye bye to positions 3 & 4.
oikee
Guest
Welcome to Jarrasic park. :) Cant wait for the raptors to excape, and once T-Rex gets loose watch out. It is like having your code run by a dictatorship, i can see the tv execs having a punch and judy show with Gallop as the donkey.
Uncle Bob
Guest
It seems you guys are about the same place the VFL(cum AFL) was in about 1985.
ChrisC
Guest
The AFL system should not be adopted for our finals series as the reward for finishing in the top 4 is to belt yourselves against another top 4 team. The AFL does not have the same issue as the sport is as not as physical.
bilbo
Guest
Salary cap is important, but firstly they need to find ways to make clubs more profitable. Membership drives etc have been a big improvement recently, but considering the pokies taxes etc, they need to focus on this. The idea that a club like the Wests Tigers, or Canberra Raiders, with a strong brand, strong merchandising and good memberships can be concerned about the gap between the grant and the salary cap sends out a bad message. Many small leagues clubs raise millions each year - the NRL clubs have a national profile, and should not be doing better when it comes to money.