It was March 1995. Rugby league boldly marched into Perth and Auckland, announced it had arrived and put the other football codes on notice. The ARL has executed one of the most successful marketing campaigns in Australian sport, underpinning the game’s rise in popularity.
Back in those days there was far more talk in the media from administrators and journalists alike about expansion and the big picture instead of endless debate about referee calls and interpretations of rules of today’s media coverage. The debates were about how many teams the ARL premiership should have and how the number of teams could be drastically reduced in Sydney to make expansion of the competition work.
Fast forward to 2019 and mainstream media commentators and journalists shut down calls for expansion. The likes of Paul Gallen and Matthew Johns line up to tell us why expansion won’t work, why it can’t happen. The failure of the Gold Coast Titans certainly adds fuel to these sentiments.
While the AFL have brilliantly executed an expansion blueprint north of the Murray River over a 30-year period, rugby league has lived from season to season. To Peter Beattie and Todd Greenberg’s credit, they are trying to put expansion on the agenda. However, they have danced around the issue. A bold plan of action has not been offered up, only words and endorsements of support for bringing more NRL to Brisbane and back to Perth.
(Matt King/Getty Images)
The problem Beattie and Greenberg face is that expansion offers just as many opportunities as it does problems. Expansion means more teams. More teams means more elite-level players are required and the consensus is that there is simply not enough NRL standard players for more than 16 teams. Nobody wants to go back to the days of the 1990s where 60-point blowouts with 22 teams were the norm.
For expansion to work a reduction in the number of Sydney teams must happen. It is non-negotiable. For many fans, commentators, former players, current players and administrators alike, that is simply unpalatable. The NRL remembers all too well what happened the last time they tried that – thousands of protesters called for South Sydney’s reinstatement.
When someone like Paul Gallen comments on expansion, deep down he surely knows it means a reduction in Sydney clubs and is therefore a threat to his beloved Cronulla Sharks. The Sharks would be first to go, probably followed closely by Wests Tigers.
Herein lies rugby league’s dilemma. Brisbane want more NRL action. Perth wants a slice of the pie. The TV audience for the NRL in New Zealand is approaching one million and the audience demographic is young people under 40. Port Moresby keeps knocking on the door, awaiting an answer. Fiji is entering the NSWRL competition. There are immense opportunities for the game. They all want in on the action, and who could blame them? Rugby league is an outstanding product.
Nevertheless, today’s NRL has essentially spawned from a Sydney-centric competition where the Sydney clubs and their supporters have a sense of entitlement and ownership of the game. No administrator in their right mind would dare announce the culling of three Sydney teams to make way for teams in Perth, West Brisbane and southern New Zealand. A mob would be set upon the NRL administration if that ever happened. Rugby league would be back in the courts and in the headlines for all of the wrong reasons.
With all due respect to some of the Sydney clubs and their supporters, the suburbs of Cronulla, Manly and Campbelltown are the equivalent of Whitechapel Road – unimportant real estate in the context of rugby league.
Perth and Southern New Zealand are the equivalent of Park Lane. A second team in Brisbane is Mayfair, notwithstanding the enormous potential for NRL teams in Papua New Guinea and Fiji down the track.
So how does rugby league go about all of this? Wait for Sydney teams to fall over or to merge? The former may happen in time, the latter is very unlikely.
The time has come for some uncomfortable and painful conversations. Too much is at stake for the NRL to sit on its hands and whistle Dixie. While the AFL is executing its big-picture plan that sees its posts stretch from Fremantle to Bondi, rugby league is preoccupied with pleasing everyone in suburban Sydney.
Sooner or later the NRL must make some tough decisions in the game’s best interests, present a bold vision and brazenly use the dirty ‘E’ word.
But how do they do this?
Well, if I had the answer to that, I would be a millionaire!
UKRL
Roar Rookie
The AFL is on 7mate in Sydney. That channel rates 4.7%.. Hardly a big code in Northern States.
Robert Szemeti
Roar Rookie
That criteria should be put to ALL 16 teams otherwise it's unfair, why does NZ or townsville or Newcastle get to skate if they have a poor year, in achievement, junior participation, members and crowds, but Manly and Roosters get looked upon when they are abysmal in comparison, even when they are doing well?. blanket rule should be if there is criteria, then all teams adrire to it, sydney is the biggest market for RL, then Brisbane, we should build to more teams, not cull current ones, have we learnt nothing from the past? Sydney RL teams are as important to NRL, as is Melbourne vfl teams to AFL, its stupid business to cut off fans from the product you sell. relocations will only work if you're a successful team, and you yourself up and leave to go looking to capture a new market in a city that can sustain you, example Roosters capitalize Adelaide, it won't work for manly who are on the poorer end, cronulla who are entrenched in that pocket of Sutherland, or tigers who span across balmain to southwest sydney. Only roosters and maybe souths can successfully relocate. But souths have 30k of members, vast juniors, catchments and crowds in comparison to the roosters, only they would see that work, where the other centralized sydney suburbian teams will struggle in future and if relocated. Whoever says too many teams in Sydney doesn't work, doesn't know rugby league, we've had nothing but 100+ years with sydney teams as the core of the competition, its all the other franchises outside of sydney that fail or struggle, or prosper due to other teams folding, Melbourne Storm's Success started from the decent of Hunter, Sth Qld and Perth. Had we kept the last 2 teams they'd be celebrating their 25th anniversary along with Nz and Nth Qld this year. 14 teams was the number we all thought down the track would sustain NRL, we were wrong to get rid of North Sydney, they would have become our Central Coast team. Wrong to drop Perth, Adelaide and South Qld, we are now trying to reopen these markets, we have 16 teams, where 20 can work, funded by PayTv, networks, and if we stop paying $1million to marquee players, that can fund and extra 2 sides in key markets, we dont need $9.3 million per side $6million should be enough. 20 man squad, not 30, you can have junior exemptions, who get paid peanuts to play, compared to your DCEs, Milfords and Cronks and might play better than them. We will hit a ceiling soon. then cullings or forced mergers will come around again, more teams solve everything. More juniors, creates more talent, more games per week, more eyes around oceania, more more more.
Robert Szemeti
Roar Rookie
I agree on this plan, and to move Roosters to Adelaide also, if money is the only reason you're still in sydney, might aswell be represented elsewhere, god knows you can afford it
UKRL
Roar Rookie
AFL is hardly going gangbusters in NSW at the moment. One reason nearly all AFL games are being shown on 7mate instead on Ch7 in Sydney. The AFL footly show was shown at 1am here lol.. The sport can’t even grow out of Australia. One thing Rugby League is having way more success at. Things aren’t all as rosey in AFL as you think.
UKRL
Roar Rookie
Cutting two teams is just a massive step backwards and removing supporters. The sport needs to grow by adding teams in new locations.
UKRL
Roar Rookie
I don’t think you have any idea how popular the Sharks are in the Shire. Was like NYE there for days when they won the premiership in 2016. You will kill off support for Rugby League in a huge part of Sydney. Sorry but very badly researched idea. As for the Roosters, what your going to move the most successful club in Sydney in recent years to the other side of the country?? All your doing by moving Roosters and Sharks is killing off a fan base. Does nothing good for the game. Other codes will just move in where these teams were take the supporters to their sport and the fanbase is lost forever. Perth needs a new team from scratch and so does Brisbane and possibly New Zealand one day. New teams is really the only way unless Wests is moved to Perth but still playing occasional home games in Sydney. Would never work with any other Sydney club.
Farkurnell
Guest
Kevin, a couple of points, I don't think the geographical model works in Aust,look no further than the A League in trying to manufacture franchises. They have some success depending on winning ratios .I believe you need an historical base to build on and/or evolve. Secondly the quality local player base is diminishing ,we are constantly topping up from UK,Pacific Islands & NZ. Current flawed judiciary decisions are turning away youngsters developing through our traditional nurseries. At the current trajectory we'll be lucky to fill 12 teams in 10 years
Zavjalova
Roar Rookie
Perth and brisbane! Thats all we need at the moment
Kevin
Roar Rookie
The whole competition needs to go to franchises. The NRL decide how many Sydney teams and the current teams bid for a franchise, either on own or by merging. Central/East Sydney South Sydney Western Sydney North/ Central Coast That would leave 10 spots for the rest. Melbourne Canberra Brisbane Newcastle North Queensland Gold Coast Brisbane 2 Perth Adelaide Central Queensland 14 teams gives 26 rounds or 2 groups of 7 playing 20 rounds Play offs Top 6 or if groups top 3 from each.
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Afl has a six year 2.5 billion dollar deal. Nrl has a five year 1.8 billion dollar deal i think. I just don’t want nrl left with scraps down the track
Dwanye
Roar Rookie
Hi Michael gardener. Sorry, I didn’t mean nrl can’t compete today/right now, I don’t have a crystal ball or a business degree, but I think the afl set them selves up for the ‘future’ stronger. Afl has all spread across more states, two teams in the Nrl stronghold. I think on paper it look stronger. I don’t see ‘action’ from nrl.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
The Dragons have moved to Illawarra in that they are in a joint venture with them. Cronulla-Sutherland were created to cut the flow of C-S juniors to St-George in 1967 in a bid to give whinging Souths fans a chance to win again. C-S could move to Adelaide and Easts could move to Perth to become the Adelaide Sharks and the Perth Roosters.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
When Canterbury-Bankstown joined the competition they took over what was a part of Western Suburbs territory. Same with St-George who played as Western Suburbs 3rd grade until they entered in 1921.
Brad H
Roar Rookie
No worries Mushi... let me know how year 5 is going.
Moth
Roar Rookie
Would love to see a team in Perth, one or two more in Brisbane and one more in NZ. Ideally a second string comp would be great especially if you promoted it right and had smart people doing the tele rights as well. If the Jets can get over 8 thousand and they haven't been around for 30 odd years don't tell me others teams wouldn't be supported even in second grade. You could even give fans double headers with the first and second grade game on the one ticket. Especially for those games between teams that don't pull a crowd. The biggest hurdle for any of this is smart administrators running the game. Right now we have monkeys running the game and so much self interest that it will never happen and that's a real shame.
Eden
Roar Rookie
Also how do I get my paragraphs back into comments. My HTML skills have evaporated
Eden
Roar Rookie
You make note of the AFL. That is a multi-generational strategy funded by a cash rich organisation with a very friendly media landscape. NRL has very little of any of that. It is also very high risk. Anyway expansion is important and history is equally so. So to answer your last paragraph I wrote this a couple years ago. Would it work? Maybe. Are there better options? I don’t think so… https://www.theroar.com.au/2017/08/09/promoting-relegation-rugby-league-untie-sydney-knot/
GoGWS
Roar Guru
What I read was that 2018 was the first time in more than a decade that the aggregate TV audience for NRL exceeded the AFL - and that concession was in a Roy Masters authored article (and he is notoriously anti-AFL so it is significant he made the concession). So in a typical season the NRL audience has been less than the AFL. It is pretty common for Sydney RL media to make the claim that NRL leads but statistics and the value of commercial broadcast deals tells a different tale.
mushi
Roar Guru
It's not my fault that your mind is where rational thoughts go to die. This article is an opus on business failure
mushi
Roar Guru
Again no actual argument.