This year marks two decades since the end of the Super League war, which ripped the game apart and threw away much of the massive support that had been so well developed through the 1980s and early ’90s.
Many fans were driven from the game because of the acrimonious and drawn-out battle that diluted the product, while dragging the game’s dirty laundry from the back rooms and out into full public view.
It was divisive. It was ugly.
In the past 20 years, rugby league has recovered. However, there are many issues that may well prove troublesome for those running the game.
If those at Rugby League Central had a wish list for 2018 – apart, of course, from a festival of superb football – it would probably look something like this.
1. State of Origin remains a massive success
The annual three-game series between New South Wales and Queensland is the jewel in the National Rugby League’s crown and their cash cow. This is in spite of Queensland completely dominating the series for over a decade, winning 11 of the last 12 series and 24 of the 36 games.
The popularity of the series is massive in spite of how lopsided it has been. The three matches are constantly in the top-ten most watched programs of the year and the stadiums are almost always near capacity. The powers that be will be banking on 2018 being no different.
All other tiers of the game are beholden to the behemoth that is Origin. This year, the Sydney game will be held on a Sunday night with no NRL matches played that weekend.
2. The dwindling crowds stop dwindling
The percentage of income made from Origin is disproportionate to the NRL proper. Take that income away – including the significant amount the free-to-air broadcaster pays for those three games – and it is unlikely the game would be in such great shape.
The crowds at NRL games are struggling, especially in comparison to those experienced by the AFL. That gulf got even wider in 2017.
| Year | NRL average crowd | AFL average crowd | Difference |
| 2017 | 15,246 | 35,202 | 19,956 |
| 2016 | 16,063 | 33,190 | 17,127 |
| 2015 | 16,073 | 33,428 | 17,355 |
| 2014 | 16,798 | 33,684 | 16,886 |
| 2013 | 16,643 | 33,484 | 16,841 |
Bear in mind that the drop in NRL crowds from 2016 to 2017 actually amounts to 164,217 bums on seats during the season.
Vision of incredibly sparse turn-outs at the Sydney Olympic Stadium and the Sydney Football Stadium have shone a spotlight on dwindling crowds.
Using such huge grounds for club matches robs games of the atmosphere that attracts supporters and keeps them coming. Surely full Belmore, Kogarah and Leichhardt Ovals are better for the ongoing health of the game.
However, the Parramatta Eels – now based at the Olympic Stadium following the demolition of their stadium – have made a great play to combat the poor crowds at the massive stadium, dropping ticket and food prices significantly. Let’s hope it works.
A further challenge is the scheduling of Thursday night games and matches at 6pm on Friday evenings. The latter timeslot is difficult for fans to get to, as they have to battle with peak-hour traffic and take early marks from work.
The Thursday night slot is also difficult, especially for families, as they don’t end until 9:30pm, which is a late outing for a school night. That can be further compounded by city traffic. My experience is that Brisbane is home to one of the country’s worst road networks, meaning family from the outer suburbs might not get home until 11:30pm.
NRL HQ would really like it if the fans could find a way to overcome these obstacles and turn up to the grounds in increasing numbers.
3. A salary cap breach punishment for the Sea Eagles that doesn’t enrage Eels and Storm fans
When the news broke that the Sea Eagles had some serious salary cap issues at the end of last year, discussions of punishments filled social media. The boys from Brookvale don’t traditionally have that many friends or well-wishers, so some of the suggested punishments were unreasonably brutal.
However, the NRL will be expected to punish Manly in a way that is commensurate with the punishments handed out to the Eels in 2016 and the Storm in 2010, while still keeping the Sea Eagles competitive in 2018.
4. No examination of a lack of salary cap concessions for players injured on rep duty
Each year, players representing their state and country get badly injured. During the Rugby League World Cup just past, Canberra’s star hooker, Englishman Josh Hodgson, ruptured his ACL. The Raiders asked the NRL for some salary cap concessions to enable them to source a replacement but were bluntly rebuffed. Why this happened is unclear.
We have already seen clubs refusing to release players to the City-Country match, something that directly precipitated the game’s demise. Clubs have also refused to release players to play for minnow nations.
The NRL’s refusal to give leeway to clubs who lose a player while on representative duty will likely see this trend increase to the detriment of international rugby league – just when the likes of Tonga, Ireland and Papua New Guinea have started to become really competitive.
The NRL will be hoping no one examines their stance closely.
5. No examination of appointments at NRL HQ
While players can go to rugby union or overseas if they are unhappy with their conditions, our top referees have nowhere to go except the English Super League – which is less lucrative and involves uprooting their whole lives. They are hostage to the hierarchy that is imposed on them.
Referees that are treated well and fairly are the best referees as they are confident and secure in their roles. In the past, I questioned Tony Archer’s suitability in this regard.
We fans want the best referees. The question is whether the best hierarchy is in place to achieve this.
Just before Christmas, it was announced that Tony Archer’s ‘general manager – officiating’ role would now cover the entire national structure. This move upstairs saw Bernard Sutton promoted to the role of ‘senior manager – officiating’, with ex-coach Michael Maguire joining him as ‘high performance coach – officiating and leadership consultant’. Stalwart Robert Finch took the role of ‘senior manager – education, development and pathways’.
What is not clear is how any of these people got selected. Are they suitably qualified? Who has reviewed their experience and past performance, and compared it to other potential candidates? Was a process even run to consider other candidates for these roles? How much are they getting paid to do these jobs? Are all of these roles necessary? How do the referees themselves feel about these appointments? Will there be a public outing by officials past and present in regards to the refereeing hierarchy’s poor performance in recent years?
All issues the NRL are unlikely to want to come to the fore.
6. The Sydney AFL teams hit rough times
As the Super League war raged in 1995, the AFL seized the initiative and ploughed money into the beleaguered Sydney Swans, delivering star recruits Tony Lockett and Paul Roos to the club. Their resultant charge to the 1996 grand final saw multitudes jump on the Swans bandwagon and the AFL finally had a proper foothold in the biggest market in Australia.
It certainly wouldn’t hurt the NRL’s cause if the Sydney Swans and Greater Western Sydney Giants had a bad year or two. While GWS haven’t exactly captured the imagination of western Sydney so far, in spite of strong results, the AFL is determined that the venture will be a success.
Further, the Swans keep making the finals with monotonous regularity. If they could give that form a bit of a break it would be appreciated by NRL HQ. However, some have suggested that perhaps the NRL needs to urgently take a leaf out of the AFL’s book in regard to promoting the game among the kids, before it is too late!
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7. An all-Sydney grand final
While the majority of us loved the North Queensland Cowboys’ fairytale run to the 2017 grand final, the ticket sales for the match itself were poor relative to when Sydney teams feature.
In a superb move, the NRL gave the excess seats to junior players and their clubs. However, they won’t want to make that too much of an ongoing thing. If two well-supported Sydney sides could make the decider this year, it would really be appreciated.
Ian
Guest
No, but then I don't believe the crowd announcements for several NRL teams either.
Matt H
Roar Guru
At some stage a Suncorp grand final will have to be on the table.
Tim Gore
Expert
I hope it does though...
Tim Gore
Expert
Ex coaches, ex refs, administrators. Lots of people want the gig.
Tim Gore
Expert
Really?!?
GoGWS
Roar Guru
Rome wasn’t built in a day...and with respect, the FTA numbers are clearly not the aim of he Giants given their frequent scheduling of afternoon games, or early evening games. They’re obviously going for family friendly time and at the games it is working - looking around there are plenty of young kids there. Also last season they’ve done a good thing by Rabbitohs to do a deal where members have mutual entry to certain games - I saw quite a few Rabbitoh supporters having a look at the Giants before heading off to the NRL which followed. You can keep on pouring on the cold water but things are heading in the right direction for the Giants and Swans.
Big Daddy
Guest
Re the crowds. It appears that it is the Sydney clubs are the ones struggling with attendance as most other club's outside sydney are holding their own. Seeing the crowd average is a tad over 15k the NRL are between a rock and a hard place. Most suburban grounds are really not up standard to handle crowds of that size and the bigger grounds really don't have any atmosphere with 15k. Even if it rose to 16 it won't make a lot of difference. Get back to basics 7:30 Friday night. Saturday's at 3:00 p.m,5:30 and 7:30 And Sundays get back to the old 3pm. Public holiday on Monday 3pm. If the NRL can stick to that it should work. The fans are sick and tired of the continual changes and are reacting with their feet. Stop worrying about what the AFL and union are doing and concentrate on what has worked for years.
Barry
Guest
Forget what the NRL would like, what the fans and clubs would like is to see legally binding contracts. How cam clubs plan for their future when players sign in supposed good faith one month and renege on the deal the next month. I have no problem with players trying to maximise their income in what could be a short career, but perhaps with legally binding contracts the players and their MANAGERS would put more time and effort into getting the best deal in the first place. Apart from the clubs and fans wanting to see their plans come to fruition via the players signed, what sort of example is it setting to the youngsters following the game, " Don't worry about a contract, we can walk away whenever we want". In addition to that if a player wants a release " I am homesick" lol, then have them sit out the remainder of their contract before being allowed to play with another club. The player merry go round is a joke.
steveng
Roar Rookie
What I'm trying to point out is an eye sore, whenever an NRL game is played there. The empty seats are a real disgrace for the NRL's image and attendances. Big stadiums like the ANZ should only be used for SOO and other big venues and not poor club games.
Perry Bridge
Guest
It's very easy for people to build up a narrative in their own mind to suit their purposes. The success of the Sydney Swans is one of those - trying to write it off as one thing or another to suit an argument at the time. The Swans reversion back to a member based club from a privately owned entity - did see in late 1992 the crisis point reached. As it was - no merger with North Melb. The AFL intervened - reportedly waiving the outstanding $2mill in licence fee and kicked in some funding - for 3 years - in '93 in particular the AFL got involved with Alan Schwab appointed exec chair and Barassi replacing Buckenara (and caretaker Brett Scott) as coach. Richard Colless who has commented here - was to go on to become the AFL's longest serving chairman - and guided the Swans thereafter and deserves an enormous amount of credit. The Sydney Swans have been probably the most important club in the progression from the VFL to the AFL. (and were the #2 team for many of us through the mid/late 80s - we saw them live and in full on tv on every 2nd Sunday). And as much as the AFL is working hard on their baby - the Giants - the Swans I suspect are still in that position. And enduring touch times - like 26 straight losses - builds a culture of respect when the good times come around. That said - I'm still glad North got over the Swans in '96 - especially after Andrew Dunkley was permitted to play. The contrast of the Swans to Melbourne Storm is that Melbourne Storm was 100% owned by Murdoch's News Ltd, who owned half of the competition as a whole (along with Telstra). While Sydney based TV commentators hated every Storm premiership win and probably yearned for the return of the Bears - it was clear that the NRL 'corporation' was determined to break into the Melbourne market and the competition and a number of it's clubs were corporate tools. The first irony is that people in Sydney would often comment on the corporate AFL - where it was the NRL that was the corporate tool. The other irony is that the Storm were too successful on field and so it was only the Storm that got hammered for salary cap issues. Ah well.
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
No reason they can't do both.
Big Daddy
Guest
NRL have announced they are going to play comp match in US in 2019. Another brainwave decision. Get it right here.
Big Daddy
Guest
Tim, I think quite a few people are multi code followers but there are some that wouldn't admit it for the fear of being labelled an AFL fan boy or rugby troll.
Peter Phelps
Guest
This is a very Sydney centric view and to some extent a Sydney centric set of problems. Take attendances, Have average attendances outside of Sydney been rising, falling or staying about the same ? What about memberships outside of Sydney ? Why does it need to be an all Sydney GF ? Why do Sydneysiders not attend this fantastic event on their doorstep just because their team isn't playing ?, could it simply be that the GF is being held in the wrong place after all, look what happened the last time Origin was taken to Melbourne. It is time the NRL stopped thinking that Sydney is the centre of the universe and wake up to the fact that RL in Sydney is a dying market whilst there is a fantastic opportunity to develop the game across the rest of the country. There is more interest in RL world wide than at anytime in history. Our game is growing in exposure and in popularity. Manly fans won't cross the bridge to see their team then thats fine, stay at home and lets put Manly in Perth - see if people in Perth will "cross the bridge". We are being hamstrung in our sport by a narrow traditionalist view of our sport - we have to break out of that if we are to survive. Two of the top 4 teams for memberships right now are outside of NSW. Time for the NRL to wake up, stop trying to put sticky tape over the leaky pipe and recognise that a massive opportunity elsewhere.
Peter
Guest
So you are saying that GWS are liars?
Don
Roar Rookie
I’m in Brisbane now and my locals are 4 km from the CBD (East Brisbane, Woolongabba, Kangaroo Point.) When I go back to the Paddington or the Surry Hills pubs around the SCG or my old stomping ground at the Oaks at Neutral Bay I see heaps of people watching the footy. Was there for 10 years. Sure, there’s plenty of other stuff going on but a big percentage are watching the footy.
Tim Gore
Expert
I agree.
Chris Wright
Guest
Amazingly the NRL said it was introducing the 6pm Friday slot to combat the early Rugby Union game that was televised at that time from NZ. I found this to be an amazing strategy as the numbers that watch that game, usually between two NZ teams was ridiculously low so why did they need to 'combat' it?
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
Fair point about the TV audience in Sydney and Melbourne missing the first half of Friday 6 pm games due to peak hour traffic. Maybe the NRL should schedule 2 pm, 4 pm, 6 pm and 8 pm games on Saturdays - a super duper Saturday - or 2 pm and 4 pm games on Sundays - rather than 3 pm starts. If they continue with 12 noon start games (EST) for Warriors home games on Sundays they can can squeeze in 3 matches on a Sunday. This would make it it 1 on Thursday, 1 on Friday, 3 or 4 on Saturday and 2 or 3 on Sunday. Seems achievable to me.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
Hi Tim. It would be interesting if Canberra had a team in the AFL as well - or the A league for that matter. How do you think that would impact on crowds for the Raiders and Brumbies? Would their support be diluted? I've made the decision to support the Raiders so it would be hard to stump up membership for other codes - even though I'm originally from an AFL dominated state in SA. And you haven't answered my query about whether the NRL can justify not giving the Raiders, Knights or Titans a home game if they make a preliminary final and are ranked higher than their opponents. Might not happen this year but it could in the near future. I reckon they would all pack their home venues out with close to 30,000. Just can't see why it shouldn't be allowed to happen.