Modern day rugby league is a landscape of dwindling crowds, financially struggling clubs and a never ending debate about just how fair the salary cap really is. Over the course of the season many have asked how to fix the greatest game of all.
Some people have suggested the NRL adopt a draft system like the AFL to give all clubs a chance to challenge for the title instead of watching the same top four sides every year. However this concept is usually always met with disgust.
Others have suggested expansion into other areas of the country to make a truly national competition, once again like the AFL or rugby union, but these views are usually subjected to a verbal barrage for threatening the existence of established clubs.
So how do we fix the NRL? We should simply adopt what I have affectionately called the “Sydney Solution”. I have created this model based on the suggestions, complaints, opinions, desires and demands of Sydney club players, coaches and fans. It requires a hard line approach in which we focus on consolidating and preserving our Sydney clubs and let outside clubs fend for themselves, because after all Sydney is the heart of rugby league (don’t let the woeful crowd attendances fool you).
The Sydney Solution (Draft)
Step one: Salary cap
In the words of INXS, “don’t change a thing”. Despite the wailings of people affiliated with non-Sydney clubs the existing salary cap isn’t broken. It’s perfect. It allows clubs like the Roosters, Souths and Manly to ensure years and years of domination and keeps those pesky outside clubs like the the Warriors and Gold Coast from being a genuine threat to the competition.
The best part is that when an outside club like Melbourne start getting too successful for their own good we can use the salary cap as a reason to erase their premierships and reduce them to a skeleton. Then we can get on with watching a truly deserving and honest team like the Roosters get back up there.
Step two: Dealing with outsiders
Are you not sick of their complaining? The Cowboys keep whinging because they are continually dudded in the finals and the Gold Coast are sobbing because the AFL is driving them out of town and into rapid extinction.
Meanwhile, Melbourne are forever marked salary cap cheats and those bloody Canberra Raiders are always dissatisfied with their lack of free-to-air coverage and other clubs poaching their juniors.
Who do these clubs think they are? The Raiders should be grateful we let them on TV at all, and as far as we Sydney folk are concerned those juniors are rightfully ours.
The Gold Coast should be content with getting a fourth chance at existence and waste away quietly so as not to bother the rest of us, the Cowboys should be satisfied with making the finals period and Melbourne…
Well, we dropped the ball with Melbourne, we didn’t stamp them out when we should have but luckily we were able to catch them cheating the cap so we rectified that error. Now we have the problem of Brisbane. Brisbane are tricky, they have money and popularity and are just a little too powerful to purge so we’ll just have to count them as part of the plan.
Step three: Expansion
No. No expansion. If absolutely necessary we can admit a team onto the Central Coast but it ends there. Expansion worked for the AFL but I think we all know who the real powerhouse code of football is.
Step four: Cronulla
A work in progress. They are a Sydney club, yes, but they are so broke and so terrible they are tarnishing the image of Sydney being the heart of rugby league. Relocation? Maybe. Merge? Don’t get your finger prints on that train wreck. Watch this space.
Summary
The ideal result would be to have all non-Sydney teams booted out of the comp and consolidate our Sydney teams in order to make our game the most popular code in Australia (trust me, the idea was formed by Sydney people so it has to work).
We can keep the cash in Sydney where we need it most and if we ignore and exclude the Gold Coast, Warriors, Canberra, Melbourne and North Queensland for long enough they will cease to exist. Then, and only then, will the NRL be fixed.
Now it may surprise some of you to know this project has already been implemented and has been in operation for some time. We are making tremendous progress. The Gold Coast are almost gone and I am predicting Canberra to be next.
So will the NRL fix itself if we keep on the path we are on? As George Costanza once said “It’s not a lie if you believe it”.
Gary Magpie
Roar Guru
Actually... NSWRL formed in August 1907, first game in April 1908 (first regular season). QRL formed February 1908, first game in June 1908 (v NZ and NSW), first regular season 1909. First Queensland game was 2 months after first NSW game.
Gary Magpie
Roar Guru
Joel, the transition is NOT in full swing - actually the opposite. Since 2012 the NRLIC has strengthened the Sydney clubs politically and it is now extremely unlikely that any club will leave the NRL competition by force - almost impossible. Expansion is dead. Reinforcing Sydneyism is occurring. The vision of a national competition from the 90s era failed. Yes it was painful, so much so that it was fought and won. The Sydney Solution is indeed the current strategy.
Gary Magpie
Roar Guru
Actually the media doesn't stir this up at all. I'm now whinging about the media not reporting on the injustices that the current NRL dishes out. Or maybe you have everything you want in rugby league and don't consider a wider rugby league community... Fair enough if that's the case - if it's all about you and your club and you don't care about growing the game or the grassroots clubs then that is your right.
Gary Magpie
Roar Guru
Maybe you can explain yourself a little more for us non-Sydneysiders. Are you saying that Regional clubs just deserve "support" (i.e. handouts from the benevolent NRL), or do you think Regional clubs and leagues actually have an entitlement from funds generated and/or deserve representation in the national competition where a populace regional can be represented? Handouts or inclusion?
Gary Magpie
Roar Guru
Just settle down a bit, Epi! If you didn't find it funny then that is ok. You could just enjoy the factual commentary on the state of rugby league that the author brought out.
Gary Magpie
Roar Guru
David wasn't talking about NRL clubs recruiting. He's talking about the real rugby league.
Gary Magpie
Roar Guru
Yet you still reply... You want to register your objection but all the facts are against you. It's ok - it isn't just you having this problem. There are several others writing one-liners and not knowing how to argue against the article as well. And we aren't blaming you! We realise that it isn't a lie if you actually believe it.
Gary Magpie
Roar Guru
Actually, The Barry, you use the Broncos as an example of NSWRL's benevolence "allowing them to join" and then use it as a source of unfairness that the Broncos have all of Brisbane to themselves. You have cake all over your mouth as well as a full slice on your plate - amazing. The Broncos were created for the NSWRL, not for Queensland. The Broncos have been looked after - at the expense of the QRL, the grassroots clubs throughout the great south east, the SQ Crushers, the Gold Coast Chargers. Why do you think the QRL-backed Crushers had an average crowd of over 20,000 in their first year? Through creating the Broncos, the NSWRL circumvented the QRL and successfully accessed the finances generated from Queensland fans without any money going to Queensland rugby league - except through the Broncos club itself. Yes, it is all about Sydney - and the article highlights how the Sydney Solution is still being pursued today and is NOT in the best interests of the game, just Sydney.
Gary Magpie
Roar Guru
Cynicism isn't trolling. Especially if it is based on factual observation.
Gary Magpie
Roar Guru
Seconded!
Gary Magpie
Roar Guru
They're also getting into pharmaceuticals.
Gary Magpie
Roar Guru
Unfortunately the money raised by the NRL does not go to grassroots rugby league. The money goes to the 16 NRL clubs and they can choose to spend it on the junior clubs that they select. There are clubs even in Sydney not aligned to an NRL club - such as the North Sydney competition which is now without NRL representation. The junior clubs in the Bears area for example only get some (not all) of their council field hire paid and that is it. In fact, the Bears stopped funding junior player insurance just this year citing insufficient funds. How much NRL money do you think flows to junior clubs at Gosford, Bathurst, Orange, Dubbo or Wagga? The clubs around NSW, QLD and Australia get almost no funding whatsoever unless they are aligned to an NRL club. By linking game development funding to income generation, you are supporting a system whereby the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. People justify this system by suggesting that the money stays where it came from, however it merely creates a situation where talent flows from the country to Sydney in order to get better paid. That is, talent is artificially transplanted to Sydney which is then used to justify the money staying in Sydney. It is perverted.
Gary Magpie
Roar Guru
Some other steps in the Sydney Solution: 1. Build the Rugby League Headquarters (over $17.4 Million) as a monument to the Sydney Solution and communicate to everyone that the Sydney Solution is strong and here to stay. CHECK. 2. Create a league called the "NSW Rugby League" but only allow membership from Sydney clubs - not the outsiders from the other side of the Nepean or Blue Mountains. CHECK. 3. Allow the "Country Rugby League" to exist and have one game per year. That is sufficient representation - after all, we have the Newcastle Knights in the competition so the rest of the state can support them. CHECK. 4. Make dual-registration in NSWRL and QRL illegal. This change prevents all NSW and ACT NRL clubs from using feeder teams in the more talented QRL competition and forces them to use the Sydney clubs. The standard in the QRL is way too high and we must force all CRL clubs to support the NSWRL. After all, we give them one game a year. CHECK. 5. Above being unbiased, we must be seen to be unbiased. We must call our Directors the "Independent Commissioners" and we must distance all NRL executives from judicial decisions by having an independent "Judiciary" to suspend players. The independent Judiciary should have former NSW players making suspension decisions - not QRL players. These are important initiatives because it is the appearance of unbiased decisions that matters - not actually making unbiased decisions. CHECK. 6. Investigate expansion. Expansion is important to many players and fans outside Sydney that are not represented and as it is these outside areas that provide most of the player talent and financial income, we must always investigate expansion. In the Sydney Solution it is always important to be seen to be investigating expansion so this will be regularly communicated to the fans. ONGOING (ON TRACK).
Gary Magpie
Roar Guru
Actually, I think Geheimagent has put forward a very strong argument. Rugby league in Australia was created in Sydney in 1907. Sydney is the foundation competition and we still have some foundation clubs that built the foundation of our foundations. Foundationhood is everything! And as some of our clubs are foundation clubs, the other Sydney clubs should also be protected from the scourge of other regions wanting to be represented in the National Rugby League - the NRL is a Sydney competition - we are the foundation! Brisbane didn't even register their league until mid 1907 - months after Sydney - and Brisbane didn't start their competition until 1908 which is a full 12 months after Sydney. Queensland's competition is only 107 years old whereas Sydney's is 108 years old. So how can Queensland expect to be considered an equal? Ridiculous. One of the most important steps in the Sydney solution was to ensure we built the new Rugby League Headquarters next to the Sydney Football Stadium - the stadium where we play all our biggest matches, apart from the ones that are too popular as it isn't big enough... The Rugby League HQ building cost over $17.4 Million Dollars - but thankfully the NRL Independent Commission had the vision to create this wonderful monument to the Sydney Solution, if not rugby league itself. I, for one, am a big supporter of the Sydney solution. Anyone who has read my previous articles knows how proud I am of the NRL Independent Commission - finally we have a Board with the money, power and mandate to stop expansion once and for all. Well done, Geheimagent. You are totally correct and, no, it isn't a lie if you believe it!
Jay C
Roar Guru
If you can't see how statements like that come off as arrogant to non Queenslanders then I don't know if there can be peace between our peoples...
The Barry
Guest
As for getting along stop going off every time a Sydney person dares mention the broncos or the history of the game pre 1988. Most Sydney people are happy for non Sydney clubs to be in the comp.
The Barry
Guest
Whether you like it or not it was the NSWRL that started the expansion and got Brisbane et al into the comp. That doesn't mean you have to accept scraps off the table. Far from it the broncos have been well and truly looked after. I'm holding the broncos success up as a good thing. You say stop blaming the broncos for being successful. It doesn't make sense. If it was all about Sydney the broncos and storm etc a) wouldn't be in the comp and b) wouldn't have been set up for success.
Joel
Guest
Very funny and the you tube Costanza clip was a cherry on top! lol nice one Geheimagent, it was that good I still can't work out if your Sydneysider or an outsider. What we do know is that the awkward painful transition that Sydneysiders are having to make that they are part of a National Competition is in full swing.
Fairy fairfax
Roar Rookie
Dear wheelbarrow with a G, nice spot of fishing there.
Johnnyball
Guest
Christ here was I thinking QLD should secede from NSW and start their on comp