David Gallop’s comments in Phil Rothfield’s column in the Telegraph today have illustrated that he is no longer (and perhaps never was) the best man to be the NRL’s CEO.
In the past 10 years we have seen significant rugby league growth in the traditional heartlands of New South Wales and Queensland, and in New Zealand. But in the rest of Australia, rugby league has gone backwards, meaning that rugby league as a whole has gone backwards.
The lack of progress made in the rest of Australia can be attributed directly to David Gallop’s refusal to expand the competition. His reason? To protect the heartlands from the impending threat of the AFL.
For whatever reason, Gallop is under the impression that the AFL and Greater Western Sydney are a genuine threat to rugby league’s dominance in Western Sydney.
The AFL is not a threat to rugby league in Western Sydney, nor in Queensland for that matter. The fact is that no one in Western Sydney cares about GWS.
There is no reason to fear GWS because rugby league has been carved into the culture of Western Sydney. It would take something extraordinary for this to change.
Gallop’s obsession with protecting Sydney teams is not helping the NRL move forward. There are eight Sydney teams (nine including St George Illawarra). Sydney will always be the home of rugby league in Australia as it has so much history and tradition. But the situation in Sydney is holding back rugby league.
Nine teams will not survive in one city.
It is sad to see teams merge, relocate or fold. But I think most Sydney fans are resigned to the fact that sooner or later, three or four teams will fold, merge or relocate.
Of the nine Sydney teams, Cronulla look the most likely to exit our competition. I think the Dragons and Tigers are safe because they are both joint ventures (and the Dragons are only partly a Sydney team).
For as long as Russell Crowe is involved with Souths, I believe they are safe too, as are the Roosters due to their wealth and the fact that they are the only true foundation club left in the competition.
Manly are also looking quite weak, especially given the poor state of their home ground. The possible addition of the Central Coast Bears does not bode well for Manly, given their current monopoly of the area between the Northern Beaches and Newcastle.
That leaves the Bulldogs, the Eels, and the Panthers. I believe we will see a merger of some kind between two of these three teams.
I can’t predict with any confidence which Sydney teams are part of rugby league’s future, with the exception of Cronulla. But I do know that the protectionist stance that Gallop has taken regarding Sydney teams is the wrong stance to take.
In order to overtake the AFL, expansion is 100 percent necessary. We need to seriously consider bids such as the Central Coast, Wellington, Perth, and second Brisbane team (and this means something like Ipswich – not a Mickey Mouse bid like the Bombers).
Later, we could look at Rockhampton, Adelaide, a second Melbourne team, and even Papua New Guinea.
By being over-protective of Sydney teams, David Gallop is holding our great game back. Enough is enough, David. For the good of rugby league, it’s time for you to go.
JVGO
Guest
No you aren't those guys AR, you are only Tony, Fitzy, It's Callled Soccer, Clipper and Ted, oh and probably the Big Marn too, and of course Australian Rules sometimes too.
NF
Guest
Easy way out to just expand into league areas for once it be nice if RL put in the hard yards and slog it out in non-traditional areas eg WA. The insularity from some to stay as a QLD/NSW is just pathetic move with times or move out.
Jarrod
Guest
I'd say that Sydney is the strongest place for League. Big risk in trying to expand into other city's and countries. Sydney teams struggle to balance their books and that is with the media pushing league whenever they get the chance. Media coverage of league in perth, melbourne, sa and nz is very limited so if sydney teams struggle financially how do you think they'll go in these other non traditional places. Also if they have to throw serious millions at the team to keep it aflot whot's the point. They do this with the storm and I don't think the returns would come anywhere near to the investment put in. Best to expand in strong league area's. Australian domination will be decades away.
JZ
Guest
bang ! on the money brother with that comment,
JZ
Guest
if the locals switched of league all those years ago why would they follow a league team again all of a sudden, Nsw do not support there teams as well as they should, hence why the bears got the boot in the first place, it was finances , crowed support and a bad stadium that lost the bears their spot. true ?
JZ
Guest
good say, how many times dose one team have to die,
JZ
Guest
really i never read this one , all the others say it was Wa no:1 , i do think the bears should get a spot,
JZ
Guest
totally agreed with the cronulla comment, i grew up supporting them but they seem to be a team with out a soul or a real home. also what is with every expansion bid team wanting to start from scratch. why not get a traditional Brisbane team in to the comp. Like a Wests, Valleys, Easts, Past Brothers, Norths, Redcliffe, Ipswich, some of these teams started way back in 1909 they have history and are rooted into the harts and minds of Queenslanders, they already have a fan base a ground and club houses, with some funding this could be a really good choice as the hole community would be behind them. as in Perth with the reds reds, or Wellington,
Pete75
Guest
Good comment Sean, Although I'd argue that North Sydney's problem was that they had no supporters in the first place. I'd also argue that contrary to popular opinion, a new club on the Central Coast is a bad idea. It exacerbates the problem of too many Sydney teams rather than alleviating it. I'd prefer a relocation of a Sydney club than starting a new one there. My preference is for a Perth team. This opens up broadcast slots due to the time difference, takes advantages of a significant and growing ex-pat east coast population, and takes advantage of the fact that Perth is a city approaching 2 million with significant wealth. I refuse to believe that if you can make a decent go of running soccer and rugby teams in the west, you wouldn't be able to do the same with a rugby league team. My second preference is for a second Brisbane team or one based in Ipswich. Surely SE Queensland has a large enough population for 3 RL teams? I'm afraid that I just can't believe that you could make a decent go of a team in Adelaide yet. Perhaps after a number of years after the introduction of a Perth team but, for now, it is difficult to see how you could get a decent enough sponsor and supporter base to make Adelaide realistic. Then there's the not insignificant issue of attracting decent enough players to make the team competitive.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
Sorry QGIRL you are living north of the border,and appear not to see past the tick gate. Show me how NSW is dying a slow death,when participation numbers are up overall. The Qld cup is not the NRL. Yeah we know about origin of players,when a guy from Kempsey decides to become a Queenslander circa Inglis. Only one club in the NRL makes money and that is the Broncos,yet they earn such a small profit,they don't pay a dividend to their shareholders. the GC Titans ATM are hardly setting the financial world on fire and living from hand to mouth. Well I was deeply involved in the SL fiasco,I had first hand experience as to what it did to fans of cubs who merged,got the flick or joined the abomination.If you belive that turfing clubs.sending fans off to other codes is the panacea for the code's ills,you and i are living in different worlds.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
In actual fact Cronulla put pressure on st George when they entered the NSWRL comp in 1967.Why? Because many of the st George players came from the shire Smith,Langlands.Their junior area was reduced substantially. In fact Cronulla is one of the few clubs,to be able to field a local 1st grade comp,wihtou joining with other areas. The only pressure being applied to Cronulla is financial,not other cubs.
Queensland's game is rugby league
Guest
I'd like to point out that Super League didn't try to kill the Sydney clubs. That was a myth stirred up by the NSWRL and ARL.
Queensland's game is rugby league
Guest
Crosscoder, I get it alright. The trouble is no one in NSW seems to be able to get it. Rugby league in NSW Is dying a slow, painful death because its administrators and fans are living in the past. Queensland has surpassed them in every area of the game because the QRL has been retroactive. The QLD Cup is a faster, more skillful and tougher competition than the NSW Cup because unlike the NSWRL, the QRL has nurtured its talent at the grassroots level. It's why 8 out of every 10 superstars in the Australian game come from QLD. The Sydney clubs lose more money than any of the QLD clubs. You can keep on saying Super League is responsible, but you won't convince me. I know tha tthe problem lies with NSWRL and its fans wanting to run the game and keep the main competition confines to the LGAs of metro Sydney.
Queensland's game is rugby league
Guest
It didn't work last time because the NSWRL fought against it until they were almost broke. The fans would have come around if the NSWRL had have accepted Super League and promoted it.
AndyMack
Guest
You can take a long walk mate.... It's people like you who will kill rugby league.
Paul
Guest
We need to stop over reacting to the “AFL Threat” RL is built into our bloodlines as the AFL is in Melbourne. AFL is only a Super sport in Melbourne. In WA and SA where there are no professional RL teams their crowds are only on par with RL when you consider they have no other alternatives. 70k combined for WA with 2 teams & 55 k combined for SA with 2 teams.( I googled that.) Why will AFL be more popular than soccer which has been trying to grow for ever. It wont!, parents who are worried about the aggression of RL will put thier kids in soccer first and then as they get older and go to high school they will switch to league. Australia is blessed with fantastic weather in all states except Melbourne and Tasmania and theres alot more to do other than go to sporting events on the weekends.
Crosscoder
Roar Guru
The NRL is not throwing bucketloads of money to keep the clubs afloat.The NRL is handing the same grants to every club,big or small. Clubs in other codes receive grants,many of whom are running at a loss. The decison to invoke Super league without any real research such as loss of fans,the need to establish grassroots in virgin areas,shows exactly why the concept failed. The SL war put rugby league back 10-15 years,handed new fans to other codes and created an undercurrent of ill feeling, which still exists to a lesser degree today. So QGIRL you don't get it. A club like the Bronocs can't crack 20,000 members in a city of 2m.
Big_Marn2000
Roar Pro
1. And through his poor running of the NRL, he is partially (not completely) responsible for rugby league being held back in this country. With the exception of the creation of the Gold Coast Titans, nothing has been done under Gallop's leadership to move the game forward. 2. Of course the AFL is a threat to rugby league. But GWS is not a threat to rugby league in Western Sydney. The way to counter the threat of the AFL is to expand to the Central Coast, Perth and Brisbane - not to be over protective of our Western Sydney Clubs. They are already protected by the fact that rugby league is embedded into Western Sydney culture, and while we can't take our monopoly on Sydney's West for granted, it is certainly not threatened by GWS. 3. I understand there is cultural difference and rivalry between all Sydney clubs (and yes, I do live in Sydney). Of the three joint ventures (St George Illawarra, Wests Tigers and Northern Eagles), two have been hugely successful, and one hugely unsuccessful. People say that the Northern Eagles failed because of the fierce rivalry between Manly and North Sydney. But there was nearly 100 years of rivalry between Wests and Balmain at the time of their merger, and now Wests Tigers are one of the most successful clubs in the NRL, both on and off the field. There was also significant rivalry between St George and Illawarra. For 60+ years, St George had unlimited access to Illawarra juniors. Some of St George's greats like Langlands, Young, Morris and many others all came from the Illawarra. Then, along come the Steelers, and that ends St George's association with the Illawarra juniors. All of a sudden, St George's junior stocks are significantly less, all because of the Steelers. But Wests and Balmain, and St George and Illawarra were able to put cultural difference and rivalry aside for one thing: survival. The reason the Northern Eagles failed was because Norths needed Manly, but Manly didn't need Norths. If two clubs need to merge for survival, then they will do it successfully.
Paul
Guest
is that becuase you admit you have no idea what your talking about or have multiple personalities, Like the saying says theres one in every crowd
Rob9
Roar Guru
I see the huge injection of cash that’s coming (exactly how much is anyone’s guess but it will be significantly larger than anything else before) and the IC coming online as the last corner for the professional game before it locks itself into a model that it backs to carry the game forward for the next century. There have been opportunities in the past that the games administrators have let slip by starting back in the 80’s when Illawarra, Newcastle, Canberra, Brisbane and the Gold Coast were introduced in the NSWRL’s attempt to take the first steps in creating a national game. They introduced these one team towns but left the Sydney alone. Then obviously something could have been done when mopping up after Super League. I see this as the last opportunity to do something big to make Sydney more efficient and sustainable in the professional era. People talk about culling Sydney clubs down to anything from 4-8 but this won’t do anything but loose fans of the game. Cutting the clubs down by half doesn’t mean the remaining clubs will double their supporter base. Taking away rival Sydney clubs has no bearing on their success and as we know none of them are successful as all 9 are bleeding money. As a very emotionally attached Sharks fan, if they go I will remain a huge fan of the game of Rugby League but not an emotionally attached one. I’ll still watch on TV but instead of attending 4 or 5 games a year I may attend 1. I won’t buy a membership of another club and I’d never be seen dead in another club’s colours. I’m probably the best case scenario fan of any culled club because I’d suspect the majority of fans would detach themselves even further from the game if they were no longer represented in the NRL. The only thing that can happen in Sydney to have any serious attempt at fixing the problem is dropping all 9 clubs into a strong second tier that operates as a Q-Cup style state league, and at the elite level we start again. The fans of the game in Sydney all deserve to be represented but if we drop some clubs and keep others, those fans whose clubs have been dropped are only left with clubs that they have loathed for years as potential clubs to support and it doesn’t work like that. At least starting again at the elite level means all 4.5 million people in Sydney can build a real attachment to a club that represents them and they’re not forced to get behind a club that they have previously hated. People have talked about 4 or 5 new Sydney clubs. I’d just have one based in the metro west playing out of ANZ, one in the metro east playing out of the SFS, then to the greater south playing from the gong and the greater north from Gosford. It should be rationalised like this or the NRL has to come to terms with the idea of leaving Sydney as it is and continuing to support ALL the current clubs until (if ever) they become sustainable. Their goal moving forward has to be not to isolate one single fan and both of these options do that, it’s just one is a far more efficient and economically viable option than the other.