Time for NRL to be proactive not reactive

It's also up to rugby league fans to get off their backsides and attend the matches. Far too many fans are willing to just sit in front of the TV. The ARLC needs to find a way of converting these people into regular attendees of NRL matches. We need the superstars of the game to be in the media more often. Have them there promoting memberships in the off season as well as during the season. I know they do it to some degree at the moment, but not nearly enough to get through to casual fans. The problem is most fans don't see a link betweem memberships, tickets and loyalty. They think if they buy a hat or a jersey every few years then that's enough to support their team. Time to set up an 'us v them' campaign to draw on their emotions. Imagine a campaign aired in Brisbane, featuringAndrew Johns, Tommy Raudonikis (sp?) Phil Gould, Ken Arthurson and other NSW legends saying they don't believe Brisbane fans are passionate enough to become ticketed members of the Broncos and will never sell out Lang Park every week. Have that on the TV during ad breaks for the cricket and news in the summer months and keep it there until round 5 of the NRL season. It's bound to draw Bronco fans into a frenzy. Have a few Queensland legends do the same on NSW TV. If it doesn't work then go back to the drawing board.

Crosscoder, I think the IC will do expansion clubs differently to any in the past and definately different to the way the AFL has done GCS and GWS. Time will tell but the two AFL clubs could be a millstone around the AFL's neck for decades to come, RL dosen't need that. My main point is that even in NSW and Qld RL has plenty of potential for improvement in crowds, memberships, sponsorships,TV ratings and general governorship. On the other hand AFL, through its absolute dominance in Vic, WA and SA, have just about maxed out all the key performance areas. So, in real terms, RL has more potential to improve than AFL, it's up to the new IC to grab that opportunity and run with it.

That's a vey salient point Mike.Rugby league has so many expansion options in this country PNG and even NZ both short and long term.7 options short term with various bid teams. The NRL does not have to prop up expnsion teams,except provide them with the annual garnt all clubs naturally receive.The aspiring clubs must show they are self sufficient,before being considered in an expanded competition.

AFL is no.1 only IN VIC, SA, WA. NRL is No.1 in NSW & QLD. The problem with league is the CEO did not have a plan for the near or long term future and also he did not negotiate a bigger TV "paydays" for the last two contracts. I am glad League is looking for the right man.

All the talk about money allocatiion and competitions is pointless at this stage. RL finally has an IC in place and they have made a bold play by sacking the CEO after 4 months. They obviously have plans both short term and long term and will no doubt be actioning them asap. We can only sit back and see what the 'bold' new vision for the game will be. One thing seems clear though: The AFL has sqeezed the lemon for all it is worth in its dominant states thus their move into NSW and Qld with new teams. RL still have plenty of potential for improvement in all the key areas even in their dominat states, let alone new areas. Let's see what the IC has in store in the next few months and years, if they do it right anything is possible.

Ian, Agreed, the Current NRL system is not a good one, the salary cap is designed to even the clubs up on the footy field and it does that to a large extent but by making the weaker clubs stronger it is also holding the stronger clubs back and therefore the entire NRL back. It's easy to say that the handouts to clubs like the Broncos are going back to their shareholders but you know that's not the case. Those monies would go into the running of the team funds and would be divorced from the overall business package. Profits and therefore dividends are achieved through the sale of merchandise, bums on seats, poker machines and whatnot. There is much for the new commission to sort out but it appears they have made a start.

Thanks for the link. An interesting development and maybe a step in the right direction, however it's no done deal. The job of Prime Minster in PNG isn't the most stable of positions these days. Having PNG in an Australian rugby league competition would be great achievement for the country of PNG and for the sport of league. The only problem is, as I said before, its a developing country, with many issues. All it will take are few incidents, and dream could be over before its started. But regardless, it would be great to have them in the Queensland Cup again. Any advancement of our sport is a good thing.

Gaz, Its chicken and egg - the TV contract will be worse because Perth, Brisbane Crushers and Adelaide got cut from the competition, so there isnt the number of games and geographic spread to justify the really big dollars that support expansion teams. As well, the AFL can afford it because it gives smaller handouts to clubs that dont need the money. The weaker NRL head office doesnt want Brisbane Broncos whining at them, so they get the same amount of money as, say, Canberra. Which they then give to shareholders as dividends, losing that money to the code. Finally, Gold Coast Suns made a profit last year, mostly due to their management rights to Metricon (thank you Foo Fighters ! That concert is rumoured to have netted more than memberships did). My feeling is, given their stadium deals, the expansion clubs wont need all the $45m thats been allocated to them over 5 years.

Ian, Take your point but not so sure they can make it up with out blinking having stated it would take five years to recoup the net loss. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/expansion-comes-at-cost-for-afl/story-e6frg7mf-1226273777584. This is an indication of the cost of expansion and I doubt the NRL would be able to fund in a like manner without the TV contract they are so desperately seeking. I would expect they would more than likely want to sort out their existing clubs financially before entertaining any additional clubs. Problem being any TV deal might be back ended to reflect expansion into other states sooner rather than later.

Qgirl, You're a little bit off on what people earn these days. "Beginning teachers in NSW public schools enjoy one of the highest commencing salaries of any profession. In 2011, four-year trained teachers start on a salary of $56,829. Salary increases are by annual increments subject to satisfactory performance, with our most experienced classroom teachers earning $84,759 from 2011." https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/about-us/careers-centre/school-careers/teaching/teach-with-us/benefits-and-incentives A storeman and packer is being quoted at $31-51k. http://www.payscale.com/research/AU/Job=Storeman/Hourly_Rate Offering 20k for professional sportsmen is therefore delusional, although its useful money for a three-day-a-week semi-professional. If you are having the NRL pick up the salary for the Queensland Cup, then they'll need to do the same for the Metro Cup, or whatever the heck they are calling the comp that the Newtown Jets and Wentworthville play in these days (and, yes, I call the Mines Department the Mines Department, and I call Easts, Easts). At this point, you can double the money. Now, because the QRL and NSWRL have a vote each on the panel that appoints the IC, you've got a political problem in getting them to part with a NRL team worth of money for each of the Queensland and NSW second tier competitions.

bjt, PNG have already submitted a bid to the QRL. The Prime Minister of PNG has pledged his full support behind the bid, including a K1.5 million payment if the QRL gives them the green light. Brad Tassell spoke about it on ABC Radio. He met with the QRL in Melbourne during origin week, or some time around that period. He said the QRL were highly impressed with the bid. Here is what was said in a press release from the Office of the Prime Minister: CEO of the PNG NRL Bid, Brad Tassell who has been dealing with the Queensland Rugby League for the past 10 months said he was now confident of a positive result having received the Prime Minister’s full backing. “Once we receive a positive response from the Queensland Rugby league, the plan is to invite 40 players from across the nation to attend a training camp in Port Moresby for four weeks,” he said. ‘A final squad of 25 players will then be selected and managed as full time professionals. ‘We will have full control over their diet, physical and mental development to ensure they can compete and represent their country at a very high level.” http://www.pncpng.com/pdf/20120514_pma_pnc_pr_media_alert_rugby_league_bid.pdf

There is no Metro Cup. It became the Jim Beam Cup, or whatever it's called now, back in the early 2000s. There's no need to make that a professional competition. Anyway, the NSW Cup holds higher status than the Jim Beam Cup. A teacher earns what, $30,000 a year? They do alright living off that. Queensland Cup should be a professional competition. A professional Queensland Cup would help make up for the low amount of Queensland clubs in the NRL. NSW Cup doesn't need to be professional as there are plenty of Sydney teams in the NRL. There should be 14 clubs in the Queensland Cup. That works out to $7,000,000 on player payments per year, and $35,000,000 over 5 years. If the NRL television deal works out at $1,000,000,000 over five years then the NRL could easily make room so that $35,000,000 goes towards the Queensland Cup's contracted players. Isn't $35,000,000 only 3.5% of $1,000,000,000?

Qgirl said, "Pay the contracted players in the competition around $20,000 each. It isn’t a huge amount, but it’s enough to allow them to live off rugby league." No. Its not. Its less than you earn working 20 hours a week at a labouring job. It'll help, but thats not enough to live off rugby league. As well, assuming 25 players per team at $20k per, its about half a million a year, per team. Assume twelve subsidised teams in the Queensland Cup - thats $6m. Do it for the Metro Cup as well. At $12m, thats roughly the turnover of an NRL side. Personally, I'd do it via a 3% sling on a NRL players salary, going back to their old club(s), because that way, as a club develops NRL players, money flows back to it.

The QLD Cup has a lot of potential, and really can be thanked for the incredible depth of Queensland talent at the moment. Hopefully it’s maintained and continues to prosper. The NSWRL is trying to set it back though, with the exclusion rule for NSW NRL teams not being able to source from them, in an effort to strengthen the NSW Cup. In other words, an attempt to weaken the QLD Cup, by luring talent to NSW Cup – Just like the old days. Another classic example of the selfish attitude of NSW and their never wavering desire to punish and not embrace the successful. Good news is, any expansion in the NRL outside of NSW will most definitely be supported by QLD Cup. So if there’s two new teams and including Melbourne, that will now be at least 6 clubs requiring the services of the QCup. I would really like channel ten to buy the rights to the Qcup and start airing live games. It would be cheap and they might actually start getting some people watching One. You’ve got the second best league comp in Australia, and the third in the world (saying behind super league – why dont they buy that too?). It’s great that they do basketball and netball, but league’s the meal ticket and they could use it as a vehicle to show the NRL what they could do with the product of league. Just imagine if Channel 10 aired only 2 live Qcup games a week? That would surpass the current level support on nine with the premier competition. A PNG team has been tried before, but money issues held in back. In theory it is a great idea to get PNG in there, national or QLD, but in reality there’s just too many underlying issues. For starters I think everyone's got to realize it’s a developing country, aka poor and lacking the infrastructure of the developed world. It’s currently suffers from chronic corruption, safety issues, they’re currently going through very serious HIV/AIDS epidemic (that gets very little attention in Australia) that would have to be considered as League is a heavy contact sport. Lastly, the NRL keeps its players on a tight leash, how will it treat a people with a very different culture than our own? If the rugby league could help this country on it path to progress, I’d be happy to see the NRL in there, but in reality I want the NRL/Australia Rugby league to develop the international game, not have the responsibility to develop a nation.

Gaz, The $24m is roughly the equity the AFL put into Skoda and Metricon. It was also, more or less, about what one and a half AFL clubs spent on things other than player salaries http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/collingwoood-magpies-spend-20m-to-buy-flag/story-e6frg7mf-1226049430571 The AFL could spend that and not blink because the acerage crowd at an AFL game is about 10 000 better than the average crowd at an NRL game. Punters through the gate. If you're about sporting professionals, its about punters through the gate.

Hey Gaz. nice Ostrich thinking mate!. #1 LOL.

Yes Ian, the AFL do look after ther struggling teams but it caused them to record a $24M deficit to Feb of this year with Demetriou having to take a pay cut. So it's not all sunny skies there either. There is no doubt that the AFL are the leaders at the minute but that doesn't mean they are necessarily heading in the right direction. You're quite correct regarding the NSWRL and QRL and they again go head to head next Wed nite. It's called the State of Origin and I accept the AFL started it, we just made it work.

I hope the new bloke has a plan on making the Queensland Cup a professional competition. Pay the contracted players in the competition around $20,000 each. It isn't a huge amount, but it's enough to allow them to live off rugby league. Fijians and Papua New Guineans would jump at the opportunity to earn $20,000 a year. Fringe playes who are on the cusp of reaching the NRL could earn a living while they perfect their game. The extra talent it'll produce will help the NRL when it decides to add expansion teams to the competition. The QRL must accept the PNG bid and look forward to introducing a team in Darwin. Logan needs a team of its own in the QLD Cup. Toowoomba must be brought back.

Oikee, Failing to plan is planning to fail. Hope is not a plan. "Get the Chinese to play rugby league" is not a plan. "Strengthening Fiji as a rugby league country by 1. Three games a year for the Fiji national side, including a game every two years against Australia. 2. Training Fijiian coaches and referees, so 15 Fijiians achieve qualifications each year. 3. Assist Fiji RL to bring 2 grounds up to sufficient standard. 4. Ensure NRL and Origin televised to Fiji FTA tv. 5. Assist Fijiian national team players to achieve NRL contracts by subsidised placements at Qld/Metro Cup sides and specialised offseason coaching" is a plan. Regarding patenting 'State of Origin', there's some serious prior art, based around the fact Australian Rules do SoO first. Gaz, Both the AFL's expansion sides have full slates of sponsors and 9-10k members. They are getting crowds indistinguishable from those of most RL clubs. They have guaranteed funding for five years. Yeah, they have issues on the paddock ... but then again, so do Penrith, Parramatta and Canberra. They also have the strategic advantage of the AFL's Disequal Funding model, where AFL House will clearly and openly play favorites, and make sure that clubs that need the extra help get it (occasionally with strings attached, like we're changing your CEO). The relationship between the NSWRL, the QRL and the IC is still a question mark, and specifically around support for country footy and the State leagues.

Rugby leagues future starts now.