Country Rugby League boss Terry Quinn has warned the NRL it faces a backlash from the code’s heartland if it goes ahead with proposals to scrap the annual City-Country clash in 2013.
Removing the City-Country game is among a raft of proposals to be be tabled at Thursday’s landmark summit in Sydney, where chairmen and chief executives from all 16 NRL clubs will join league chief David Gallop to discuss the future of the game.
Gallop will give club bosses an update on the status of the independent commission – with official invitations to the eight nominated commissioners reportedly in the mail – while the new broadcasting rights deal and scheduling will also be high on the agenda.
And the City-Country game – which has been part of the rugby league calendar since 1930 – is on the endangered list, with clubs desperate to reduce the threat of player burnout.
Asked about the prospect of followers in the bush turning their back on the game if the fixture was scrapped, Quinn said: “Absolutely, there’ll be a huge backlash.
“We’re not very happy about it at all. It just takes away a lot of the interest from the bush and displaying our rep players that have come through the NRL.”
The game is believed to be safe for 2012, with the likelihood it will be played on a standalone weekend of representative football, with the mid-year Test between Australia and New Zealand on the Friday night and City-Country on the Sunday.
Beyond that, however, it appears the only mid-year representative fixtures would be State of Origin.
The NRL seems unwilling to have Origin as a stand-alone games, the preferred option being to play the three matches on Monday nights, lessening the impact on players having to back up the following weekend.
But players would still be stood down from NRL matches preceding each Origin, a situation deemed unsatisfactory by Rugby League Players’ Association boss David Garnsey.
“The big concern that I have is that we have two fantastic competitions … the State of Origin and the NRL competition which people love, yet they compete with each other,” Garnsey told AAP.
“We really should be using both to compete with other codes.
“You get to the Origin period and you get less people at NRL games because the quality drops because the top players aren’t there … it cannibalises (the NRL competition).”
The interests of broadcasters are tipped to win out, however, with the NRL chasing a $1 billion pay deal for the new television deal which is due to take effect in 2013.
Clubs are anxious to learn what their slice of the pie will be under the new deal, with Gallop having stated his preference for the annual grant to move closer to parity with the salary cap, which currently stands at $4.3 million.
The NRL handed out $3.65 million to clubs this year, with that figure to rise to $3.75 million next year, but Garnsey said it is imperative any injection of funds is passed onto the players.
“I don’t know that we’re too concerned with what the grant is – we’re focused on the salary cap and whether that’s adequate,” Garnsey said.
“It’s difficult to talk with any sort of precision about that because we don’t know how much money’s going to come in, and we don’t know when, and the NRL doesn’t either.”
Club bosses are hoping to have a better idea on their budgets for 2013 and beyond.
“There’s long-term planning needed around player contracts and that’s obviously the key revenue item,” Wests Tigers’ chief executive Stephen Humphreys said.
“A good meaty conversation is timely.
“I’d imagine we’ll get a range of possibilities.”
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
I think we are all jumping the gun TBH.I understand from today's CEO/chairmen's meeting that each NRL club will take one of their games to the bush towns in both Qld and NSW.IMO that is heap better,than 1 annual City Country.Imagine the Broncos v Nth Qld in Cairns.Souths v Easts at Coffs Harbour. Four quarter football is the answer.Three minute break in the first and 3rd quarters.Then the stations can shove the cholesterol ads down out throats,the spectators can buy another pie,and use the boys' room if the need arises.
turbodewd
Guest
Well the AFL has tweaked its games for TV. They go over 3 hours with plenty of breaks. NRL is done and dusted in 90 minutes - half the length of an AFL contest. Id have no problem with a 90-120 second break in the middle of each half for an ad break. It could happen at the first natural break in play after the 20th or 60th minute.
oikee
Guest
Well it is really hard to compete when the tv networks wont pay to support the game. The NRL makes half what the AFL makes, and to make matters worse, they can spend 100 million on expansion alone. Rugby league survives only, nothing more, simply survives, the networks have to allow for growth, and given a code a warchest allows growth. Not only have the networks allowed for growth in AFL, they have supplied them with extra extra bonus to weaken our code even more, you see where i am going with this. ? The NRL got ripped off last deal, this deal we need to double the deal, even again by half to allow for growth. The game has done enough to show that it is a game loved by half the country without being allowed to grow in the other half. This does not make sense, it is third world thinking, it is like being back in the dark ages, sinse when is a code not allowed to grow. You need money and lots of it to grow your sport these days, rugby league needs big dollars to catch up to other codes. As everyone keeps telling us, we are only big in 2 states and a town in England called the M62. Give us some money you cheap bustards.
oikee
Guest
I think you will find that most who watched the Test match in Brisbane also watched the city country game. My only problem is that the game was not live. Rugby league only has one live game on TFA, yes only one, so league fans have to suffer not having those 3 games not live on Fox, yet we pay for the damm thing. Its completely pointless, designed to rip people off and they get away with this, look at the AFL new deal, all games are now live on Fox. If league fumbles this time, watch the backlash. I will be the first to hit them with 2 lost sole subscriptions, never to return. I am sure i will be one of hundreds of thousands. Like i said, rugby league has been treated like dirt, only yesterday i was ready to watch the q-cup and nsw cup only to have some snooker game taking up rugby league space on pay. Give me a break, i am sure league fans are ready to vote, with their feet and dollars. Enough is enough.
turbodewd
Guest
Ian, the interests of the NRL clubs are the lifeblood of the sport. The AFL is rich and running rings around the NRL because our clubs are weak. This is why in 1995 News Ltd found it so easy to buy half the league virtually. Roll on IC! The NRL must take the fight to the AFL. People need to understand that AFL strategists know how to run a sporting league and we are just learning how.
turbodewd
Guest
Mate, the big clubs that you refer to arent that big. Most of them barely run at a profit. You need to understand that the AFL is running rings around the NRL and they are loaded with money. We need strong business minds to help the NRL compete vs the AFL giant.
turbodewd
Guest
oikee you are a RL tragic, but most people arent. The City v Country game doesnt rate super high and there's nothing 'country' about it. Its from a bygone era and served us well. RIP City v Country - 1930 to 2013.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
People are starting to see the downsides of an Independant Commission run by the NRL clubs. Quite simply, the QRL were right - the interests of the NRL clubs are not identical to the interests of the great game of rugby league.
Big Time
Guest
The big clubs care about themselves, not the bush. Simple as that. The more I am involved in country rugby league, the less respect I have for the heirarchy and the big clubs. I am a passionate league man, but I am losing faith. Bush footy is dieing and no one seems to want to acknowledge it.
Ksi
Guest
Maybe play the proposed U20 origin at a country venue. One year QLD the next NSW. I don't really care about NSW having City v Country but I hate how it stops the NRL. I hope QLD don't start using it for NRL level. That would wipe out the Broncs, Storm, Cowboys & Titans for that weekend. I read an article this morning about bringing in NZ Origin Auckland V Country & U20 Aus Origin. That will be great for the game. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
oikee
Guest
Yes, i will not be happy if they scrap this country match. The NRL should be taking more games to country areas. Surely it is not that hard to plan a few games around the place, instead of just going to the bigger markets. Around origin time you could take a under 20's and nrl game to places like Rocky, Parkes, Bathurst, Alice, Darwin, Toowoomba, Tamworth and others. Not every year, but one game a year would be a start. The country game provides this oppotunity. And the last game was a cracker.