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Reduce and expand way forward for NRL

Roar Guru
25th October, 2011
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Roar Guru
25th October, 2011
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3037 Reads
Tim Moltzen attacks

Tim Moltzen attacks during the NRL Round 24. AAP Image/Action Photographics/Grant Trouville

The leadership of rugby league is finally expected to be taken over by the long-awaited Independent Commission. These eight commissioners will be immediately faced with some huge issues currently facing the game.

Firstly, the much-talked about television deal that will be by far and away the biggest in the game’s history.

As fans, obviously we’re all hoping and expecting the biggest deal possible so the rugby league rivers can again run with gold.

The next issue facing the game, which is being driven by the media and a number of franchises trying to make an early splash, is that big ‘E’ word – expansion.

A few years ago when the Titans were making their push into the NRL, there were only three options seriously being considered. The Gold Coast, with its large and growing population and the (at the time) empty sporting market that existed there, was really the only way to go.

This time around there’s a heap of possible expansion areas being thrown around with no clear favourite emerging. Making it even harder to predict is that we’re still in the dark as to how many (if any) teams will be granted entry into an expanded competition.

As one of the hot topics in the game at the moment with so many possible areas to expand into, the elephant in the room when expansion is talked about is relocation. As a diehard Cronulla Sharks fan it’s a likely reality that sends shivers down my spine.

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However, with a seriously cluttered Sydney market in which many teams are struggling to survive, it’s starting to become a matter of when, not if.

As the capital of the rugby league world, the game is hardly prospering in Sydney. I’ve sat with another 5999(ish) people in the Shire watching the Sharks play the Titans. Bulldogs and Rabbitohs home games at ANZ look terrible and it’s a similar situation for the Roosters at the SFS. With the Panthers having an ordinary year, crowds at the foot of the mountain have been poor there too.

However, while crowds look good cosmetically and are one important aspect of cash flow, they aren’t the be all and end all. But when you look further than just attendances, unfortunately the Sydney rugby league landscape paints an even poorer picture.

The Sea Eagles weren’t able to bask in the glory of winning the NRL grand final, with news that the club is posting a loss of a million dollars.

This comes from a team that’s been strong for a number of years now, finished the 2011 regular season in second place and geographically holds a monopoly north of the harbour. This is a common story across the clubs in Sydney, with many of them bleeding money.

All of this boils down to the fact that within the one city there are nine clubs competing for the ‘hearts and minds’ of the public. They also need to compete for the corporate dollar available in Sydney while also sucking on the NRL ‘teat’. This is an unsustainable situation.

The new commission now has the chance to transform the world’s premier rugby league competition from a suburban Sydney backyard league into a truly national and professional league involving clubs that can survive on their own two feet (which must be the goal of all professional sporting leagues across the globe).

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While recognising something has to be done to the cluttered Sydney market, there are huge challenges that come with changing the landscape.

In 1999, when clubs were faced with the ‘merge or face the consequences’ ultimatum, the North Sydney Bears joined up with Manly to form the Northern Eagles. A tough pill to swallow for both clubs as prior to this the teams had been bitter rivals.

After the 2002 season the club ceased playing regular games in Gosford and changed their name back to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, a move that effectively isolated Bears fans.

For those in the Shire, if the Sharks relocated or were dropped from the competition all together, geographically the closest option for fans is the Dragons. A team we have been brought up to loathe. The league is kidding itself if they believe Sharks fans will filter off into other NRL teams that made the cut.

I would imagine it would be the same if any other Sydney based club was to be dropped or relocated. Just as Bears fans have been forgotten about by the NRL, continuing to tinker with the Sydney landscape has the potential to isolate even more fans.

Another thing that makes the process of deciding which club is dropped or moved unfair is that all Sydney clubs have experienced their highs and lows over history. The league’s leaders are making a decision based on a snapshot of the current situation.

Sure, at the end of the day that’s all they can really do, but is it fair on the clubs? Not so long ago things were in a much better state down in the Shire. With the $300 million development on club land close to being signed off on, the coffers will be filled once more which will see the sharks as one of the top Sydney teams again.

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As the weakest team in Sydney right now, it wouldn’t be fair on the club if a decision were made today to send them to Perth or drop them from the NRL.

With the cluttered Sydney market in an unsustainable state long term and the potential to do damage if the Sydney landscape is altered, we’re left with a catch 22. Something has to change but history has shown us that certain strategies have come with negative side effects.

My suggestion for this problem we’re faced with is as follows:

Drop the nine Sydney based clubs out of the NRL and start again. Yes something has to change and this is the only fair way to go forward without isolating large chunks of the league public in Sydney. A very controversial move but stay with me.

Start two new franchises in Sydney, one in the east playing out of the SFS and one in the west playing out of ANZ. As much as it hurts to admit it, the Broncos are the benchmark for not just our League but professional sporting leagues across this country.

They’re the strongest sporting brand in Australia and have average crowds in excess of 30,000. The simple reason for this is Brisbane is a one team town for rugby league. Brisbane has a population of two million people and being the only team in this sized market helps it operate very successfully.

With Sydney’s population of four million people we should divide the city into east and west and build up these two new franchises. The Broncos are the model that clubs should aim for. With nine teams competing in the Sydney market, not one of these clubs could ever hope to reach the level that Brisbane operates on (in business terms).

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When creating these two new franchises, ensure that the clubs in Sydney’s east (Dragons, Sharks, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Manly) are involved in establishing the team playing out of the SFS. Do the same with the current club’s in the west (Tigers, Bulldogs, Eels, Panthers) for the team playing out of ANZ.

It would be very important for the old clubs to be involved to create this link with the new franchises so fans remain engaged and the spirit of their old club lives on in the new one.

Then with the nine Sydney clubs, create a league under the NRL that operates on the same level as the Q-Cup so these clubs can live on after no longer existing in the national league. These clubs can also feed the new franchises that they are linked up with which will continue to strengthen the bond between the nine old clubs and the two new ones.

I know a lot of criticism will come from the traditionalists. Some of the great league clubs are these suburban Sydney teams, but in today’s professional sporting environment and for the long term sustainability of the league, there is no place for these sort of teams in the competition.

I fully respect the tradition of not just the Sharks but all these teams, and it’s why I have proposed creating a strong second tier for these clubs to operate in. In the Q-Cup, clubs such as the Redcliffe Dolphins and the Ipswich Jets are steeped in tradition and have very proud histories while effectively operating outside the national comp. Under this proposal the spirit of these nine clubs lives on in the new teams they are aligned and they can continue to operate in their local league.

If this is all done and promoted well, there is no reason for fans to feel isolated. The clubs live on in a new name and colours, but the system favours no one particular team so no fan can feel isolated. We can actually get back the disconnected fans in Sydney’s north under this structure.

The team in the west could catch the fans of the four clubs in that area and potentially get crowds of around 50,000 at ANZ. Hardly the cavernous feel during a Rabbitohs game. In the east at the SFS, we could go close to selling out each home game.

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Obviously the draw could be structured to ensure that one of the teams is playing in Sydney on any given weekend to truly maximise attendances. And imagine the derby game!

So effectively cutting seven spots from the NRL creates a nine-team league – definitely not enough. I would have a 12 team league with teams from Perth, Gosford and Wollongong. The Central Coast is far enough away from Sydney to avoid the clutter that these decisions have been based on in the first place.

There’s a big enough population (that’s growing) to support an NRL team and a great stadium that was built in the first place to attract a team for their residence that have been crying out for their own club for years. A team here can also serve to cater for the people in Sydney’s northern reaches who may be geographically closer to Bluetongue than the SFS.

This entire situation is mirrored to the south of Sydney which is why I’ve included a team from the Gong. A large enough town in itself while being located far enough away from the big smoke to justify their own team playing exclusively out of WIN Stadium.

Finally, I’ve included Perth. Australia’s fourth largest city and we simply need a presence there. A lot has changed since the days of the Reds. The mining boom has dragged over a lot of people and corporate dollars from the east coast.

Besides that we must make more of an effort to grow our game nationally. AFL… enough said. While a move to Perth is justified, the NRL has to get on the front foot about moving into some markets where AFL is number one. With a great rectangular stadium ready to go and broadcasters looking at where the pins are on the map, Perth is a must for expansion.

With these changes, the new NRL would look like this:

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North Queensland Cowboys
Brisbane Broncos
Gold Coast Cowboys
Newcastle Knights
Canberra Raiders
Auckland Warriors
Melbourne Storm
Perth (Reds or something fresher)
Sydney (East – name TBA)
Sydney (West – name TBA)
Wollongong/Illawarra (Steelers)
Gosford/Central Coast (Bears or something new)

Twelve teams would make for a great 22 round competition with each team playing 11 home games a year. This reduced format identifies 12 strong areas and means that each club gets a larger slice of the NRL funding pie to continue to grow the game in their regions and pay their players a salary that competes with other codes.

Reducing the amount of teams also magnifies the talent pool. I think at origin time we’re still looking a bit stretched, certainly stretched enough to question increasing the number of teams above 16.

Reducing the size of our national league by four would also strengthen the semi pro leagues such as Q-Cup and the league I proposed for NSW that would involve the nine existing Sydney clubs.

In the mid term we could look at expanding again to places such as Adelaide, Rockhampton and the Sunshine Coast. In the longer term expansion could occur into growing places such as Cairns and Coffs Harbour. What is key though is that any new teams need to be placed in areas that don’t already have an existing NRL club close by.

Obviously this proposal is a dramatic change from the status quo and I don’t expect to win too many friends out there who will agree with this sort of structure. I’m sure people will say that it’s easy for me to suggest such a change because my club is one of those on the chopping block.

But as a fan of the Sharks the one thing that’s bigger than my club is the game of rugby league and all that I want at the end of the day is my game to prosper and hold it’s own in this competitive sporting environment that leagues have to compete in these days. It’s time to come to terms with the fact that the situation in Sydney isn’t sustainable and is holding back the league.

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What I’ve suggested is a solution that attempts to solve the clutter issue in Sydney while providing a real alternative for fans there to ensure the game doesn’t loose them all together.

At the end of the day, the NRL is trying to operate a business that generates money for the game and all of its entities. Under the current format this objective isn’t achievable (ie. self sufficient clubs).

The new leadership that we’re intrusting with the future of the game has the chance to make decisions that bring the game into the current millennium, ensure it operates to the best of it’s ability and carve out a path that creates an exciting future for rugby league.

I hope these eight commissioners pay the NRL the respect its due and start treating it like a business in order to create the sort of professional national competition that rugby league deserves in this country.

Fixing the Sydney problem while making strategic moves into new markets is the way forward and must be the Independent Commission’s priority.

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