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Todd Carney to North Sydney is of enormous interest to NRL fans – but not for the same reason it interests me.
Carney’s signing with the Bears looks to have caused a fissure in relations between them and the club they feed, South Sydney – so much so that the arrangement may collapse completely.
That would perhaps leave the Bears forming a new marriage of convenience with Sydney Roosters. Would the Roosters be more amenable to calling up Carney than the Rabbitohs?
This is the question that intrigues most fans.
Personally, I think Carney’s exile from his homeland – three and a half years – has been long enough. At 31, he probably shouldn’t be denied the opportunity to prove himself in the NRL.
But even if I disagreed with the Bears’ decision to sign Carney, I’d defend their right to make the decision and stand up for themselves.
Clubs like Newtown, Norths and the Brisbane suburban clubs have bankable IP in Australian rugby league and seem held back from leveraging it by the NRL behemoth and the chaotic structures in which they operate.
Throw in stand-alone St George, Illawarra, Balmain, Wests and some others and you have brands which – commercially – should be able to stand on their own two feet at a modest level.
Wests are doing some great stuff this weekend with a Return To Lidcombe day – you can even buy an old Victa-sponsored jersey.
Saturday’s clash v @westsmagpies at Lidcombe Oval is more than just a game. It’s an event! Food trucks, jumping castle, giveaways and more. #WeAre8972 pic.twitter.com/Z3CLJuDuha
— Newtown Jets (@newtownrlfc) May 21, 2018
Things for rugby league in England are far from rosy – I’m not going to pretend otherwise – but chances are you’ve heard of Bradford Bulls, Toronto Wolfpack, London Broncos, Sheffield Eagles and Featherstone Rovers.
None of them are in Super League; all of them have the opportunity to get there. They have varying degrees of free rein to promote themselves – the Bulls even show their games on their Facebook page – and certainly wouldn’t take orders on who they can and can’t sign from a Super League club.
In terms of autonomy, they are much better off than their Australian brethren but then again clubs in the UK across a range of sports are far less beholden to a head office than they are in Australia or America.
One thing both lower-tier setups have in common is a random balance between old and new – Toulouse vs Batley, New Zealand vs Newtown – and an uncomfortable mix of history and expansion.
Women’s rugby league has shown that if you want to do this balance properly, you have to start again. Don’t just rename a competition but create a new one. Don’t just admit or exclude sides on how much money they have or the needs of an NRL head coach, either.
Could Queensland and NSW Intrust clubs play more cross-competition matches than one final at the end of the year? Perhaps a middle-third with a view to an eventual merger? Why are they separate except to protect a few blazers, when one has a team in Papua New Guinea and another is about to have one in Fiji?
Could one-town teams be grouped together somehow in a pre-season tournament with historical clubs on the other side of the draw and the two winners meeting in a final between, say, Norths Devils and Newcastle Knights?
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Eight and a half NRL teams in Sydney probably means the mainstream media there will never give second-tier competition more exposure than it does now. Brisbane traditionally gives more but still, the Broncos reign.
But with Peter Beattie saying performance in these competitions might lead to promotion to the NRL, surely we can get the press of Perth, Adelaide, Suva, Port Moresby and Central Queensland interested and improve the television deals for these comps?
What about a summer Nines involving the likes of North Sydney, the West Coast Pirates, the Steelers and Adelaide Rams, with recently retired NRL stars battling it out with hopeful youngsters?
These are famous clubs or sizeable population centres or both. The game isn’t going so well that it can continue to repress them so as not to negatively impact an NRL team.
Let’s fill more places on the map without the need to spend a squillion on a new NRL team. Second tier sport is now much sought-after as digital content. It can find its own market.
Todd Carney’s signing with North Sydney has the potential to become a bit of a rallying cry for rugby league clubs who’ve been left in the shadows for far too long.