NRL announce string of changes

The NRL today updated the 16 club CEOs on a range of issues including changes to the salary cap and club funding, the impact of the new rule changes, details of the 2015 pre-season and a review of match-day attendances so far this season.

NRL Chief Executive Officer, Mr Dave Smith, said it was part of working with the clubs to deliver a whole-of-game approach to continue making the NRL stronger and healthier.

Changes to the Salary Cap:
Chief Operating Officer Jim Doyle said the changes follow a comprehensive review of the salary cap rules involving consultation with clubs, players, player managers, corporate partners, fans, media and other stakeholders.

Mr Doyle said the changes, to take effect from 2015, will include:

• Making it easier for clubs to put long serving players into careers with those clubs as they approach the end of their playing days
• Increasing the veteran player allowance by up to 50 per cent. This move recognises that clubs and players should be rewarded for long service. The allowance will now apply to players serving six years with a club (previously 8 years.) The allowance will be on a sliding scale with a maximum $250,000 per club in 2015 and $300,000 in 2016
• Promoting player welfare with a new allowance for clubs who need to field a player outside their roster to replace a player who has suffered a concussion
• Allowing clubs to exclude termination payments from the salary cap where the club has approval from the NRL to terminate a player for behavioural issues which have brought the game into disrepute
• Regulating transfer fees – either by including them in the cap or through other mechanisms. However the June 30 transfer window will remain in place
• Giving the NRL CEO discretion to compete with other codes to recruit or retain players in exceptional circumstances
• Simplifying the salary cap structure by rolling in the existing marquee player allowance and the sponsor servicing allowance into the base cap
• Developing a rookie player system for the next CBA to improve the welfare of young players and provide a talent pathway
• Introducing a new reporting regime to monitor football department spending.

*All changes are subject to formal negotiation and agreement with the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA).

Mr Doyle said the 2015 changes were in addition to the reforms introduced this year which included an increase in the second tier salary cap and new measures to improve the governance of the salary cap.

“The salary cap has played a key role in making our game so competitive and strong,” Mr Doyle said.

“In fact, since the cap was introduced, all 16 clubs have finished in the top four – and nine different clubs have won the Premiership.

“But we recognise we need to keep updating the salary cap to make it more efficient and these changes are aimed at keeping our competition even while ensuring clubs remain financially viable.”

Impact of the Rule Changes:
Analysis of the rule changes introduced this year shows that it has resulted in one of the closest competitions on record.

So far this year, 48 per cent of games have finished with a margin of 0 – 6 points.

One in every five games have had a margin of 2-points or less.

There has also been an increase in playing time of about two minutes per game.

Concussion Rule Changes:
The NRL is also set to strengthen concussion rules to make clubs more responsible for identifying and assessing players who may have suffered a concussive injury.

NRL Head of Football, Mr Todd Greenberg, said today the new rules introduced for the 2014 season had seen a significant improvement in the way players are treated after suffering a possible concussion.

But he said the game has identified opportunities to further strengthen these rules to place greater onus on clubs to identify players that have possibly suffered a concussive injury.

Mr Greenberg said the rules would be tightened to require a player to be taken from the field as soon as they exhibit any of the signs of concussion.

“In other words, we are putting greater onus on the clubs to ensure they identify any player exhibiting signs of concussion and take them from the field immediately,” he said.

“To help them do this, club trainers – who have restricted duties – will be required to help identify players who may have concussion and remove that player from the field for assessment by the club doctor.

“It will no longer be an excuse for clubs to say that the club doctor and trainer did not observe any concussion signs – it is the club’s responsibility to do so.”

Mr Greenberg said the NRL would continue to make changes to the concussion rules if required.

“New rules always undergo some tweaking to ensure they are effective and that is what we are doing,” he said.

The amendments come as the NRL today issued Wests Tigers with a breach notice for an incident involving forward Liam Fulton in Round 5.

Pre-season Calendar:
The proposed pre-season calendar for 2015 will start with the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines and see the return of the Indigenous All Stars game on February 14.

This will be followed by the World Club Challenge (in the UK) and NRL trials on February 20, 21, 22. The regular season will kick off on March 5.

Alex McKinnon:
The NRL updated CEOs on its plans to support injured Newcastle forward Alex McKinnon as well as the establishment of a whole-of-game foundation. The game-wide strategy was supported by the CEOs.

In addition to providing a job for Alex in the game, the NRL will work with the clubs on a ‘Rise for Alex’ round in July (Round 19).

The aim is to raise funds for Alex’s recovery and to enable fans to show their support for Alex whose spirit has been an inspiration to everyone in the game.

Match-Day Attendances:
Attendances have built up during the first eight rounds, with strong crowds and a number of records broken during the Easter and ANZAC rounds.

However, the NRL will work with the clubs to make changes to its strategy to increase attendances at Rugby League matches.

An analysis of crowds at NRL matches shows they have been steady over the past 10 years.

The average crowd at games was 15,900 fans last year – which is exactly the same average for matches over the past decade. The target for this year is 16,500 and the NRL is on target to achieve this.

So far this year, the average crowd at the premium stadiums – Suncorp, ANZ, Allianz, Eden Park and AAMI Park – has been 23,400, well above the average for suburban grounds.

Club Funding:
There was also discussion around the introduction of a club funding model which, for the first time, rewards strong performance but is conditional on minimum standards.

It is the most significant shake-up to the way the clubs are funded in the game’s history. The aim is to create a sustainable base from which to grow the game.

The clubs will have up to $1 million of a new funding package “at risk” if they don’t meet minimum standards. However, the clubs will also have the opportunity to access a multi-million dollar pool of “incentive payments” if they grow their performance across membership, game day attendance, merchandise and sponsorship.

This is core to the NRL’s ‘future-proofing’ strategy to deepen and diversify its revenue sources (growing non-broadcast revenue to 50% of the game’s total income).

Club Memberships:
Already, more than 236,000 fans have signed up as members of their clubs.

The results support the NRL’s campaign, over the next few years, to attract new members who are more likely to attend matches, recommend the game to others and grow long term average attendances.