A friend of mine who strongly opposes a promotion and relegation system for the NRL recently suggested Australia’s population size is the principal reason an EPL-style tiered structure for rugby league won’t work.
“Australia doesn’t have the population base of Europe”, he said. “If Melbourne were demoted, what happens to (Cameron) Smith and (Cameron) Munster?”.
I’ve also heard that Australians aren’t interested in second-tier competitions as a rule.
There is certainly some merit in those sentiments, no doubt about that.
(Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
Nevertheless, a promotion and relegation system could address many of the NRL’s issues with continuing pressure to expand into new markets. It may be worth looking into in terms of its feasibility in the Australasian context.
Promotion and relegation has never been tried in Australia, and a possible counterargument to the claim that there is no interest in second-tier competitions in this country is that there has never been a promotion incentive.
Let’s explore the pros and cons of a promotion-relegation system.
The case for promotion and relegation
There are so many cities and regions ready for an NRL team. The top-flight competition cannot fit them all in; however, a second-tier premiership that offers the opportunity for a club to be promoted to the top-flight is a possible compromise and may engage sponsors and communities to support new franchises.
Promotion rewards clubs from the second-tier that have got their act together on and off the field. It also means that an NRL club that loses its way is relegated from the NRL and drops down to go through a rebuilding phase. This creates interest in a competition within the NRL competition to avoid relegation. It also addresses any perception that the NRL is a closed shop that locks out all the other clubs from entering the competition by offering opportunities to clubs like North Sydney, Redcliffe and Wentworthville to gain entry.
If the NRL was to be reduced to 12 teams and the second-tier competition was also 12, it would provide finals football-quality matches in the NRL every week. This structure could see existing NRL and fringe NRL players released to be available to the second-tier clubs so that the quality of football for the second-tier competition could also still be high.
A two-tiered structure like the model described would provide 1 matches of professional rugby league from both competitions to be sold to broadcast partners and subscribers every week. This could empower the NRL to negotiate more TV and streaming revenue to pay for two competitions in the future.
Finally, a tiered structure offers a pathway for new clubs in Perth, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Queensland, the Central Coast and Fiji to the NRL. If we look at the successes of Toronto and Toulouse in the British rugby league system, those clubs have been building their systems, processes, corporate partnerships and their engagement with their local communities for several years.
(Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
The case against promotion and relegation
Second-tier competition in Australia has traditionally had little interest beyond family members and friends. We’re reminded of this when the NSW Cup is broadcast on Sunday afternoons on Channel Nine. How can we say for sure that the few thousand loyal fans that still turn up to watch their club at the bottom of the NRL ladder will still turn up next season if their club gets relegated? This is a big unknown.
The allocation of funding of clubs from the NRL in the second tier would be very contentious. There may be endless debate over how much revenue a second-tier club should receive and protests that the top-level competition and its clubs would be in effect subsidising the second-tier competition.
The salary cap level for the second tier would also be contentious. What would the salary cap be for a second-tier competition? If a club is relegated from the NRL, does a lower salary cap, for example, mean they have to release a whole heap of players? Could a club still afford to hold on to their player roster?
For example, St George Illawarra have had a bad season with a squad full of quality players and would be in the relegation zone. If they were demoted, would that team be ripped apart? Furthermore, would someone like Tyson Frizell be forced to stay at a second-tier club if St George Illawarra were relegated and he most probably lost his NSW and Australian jersey?
The relegation of some clubs may kill off these clubs for good. The regions and people they represent would be lost to the game. You would have to question whether the Gold Coast, the Warriors or the Melbourne Storm would survive relegation. If the Warriors were relegated, the NRL could lose a large TV and streaming audience from the New Zealand market and the revenue this audience brings in for the game.
Promotion and relegation has never been tried in any sporting competition in Australasia and the introduction of the concept is high risk because there is no promotion-relegation culture. Is there any guarantee that a second-tier competition would develop any profile? Would broadcast partners and sponsors be interested in funding the competition and the clubs?
So there you have it. The only way to see if promotion and relegation can work is to try it out. It may turn out to be a roaring success. However, trialling this model could also end up being a costly and expensive mistake that creates a big mess that will take years to recover.
Toni
Guest
Well I'm not sure you need a 300 million population for a promotion/relegation system to work well. Practically all European leagues of any sport work under a promotion/relegation system in countries that are even smaller than Australia in population! I think it's more of a culture thing. There is a culture for this in Europe while it's not the case in Australia, and to make it work you need to shake up the whole structure of rugby league. And that's not easy.
Greg
Guest
The game will only benefit from it. The race for the top eight is all the current clubs are playing for. Teams that are out of the race early in the season have nothing to fight for... Why on earth would the fans bother forking out to see them. If they’re fighting for survival in the top tier the fans have a vested interest in getting behind their team. If second tier clubs have dreams of getting to the top and can manage to do it, they bloody well deserve to. Imagine Burleigh Bears playing the Titans in a playoff for a top tier position next year. Tell me that wouldn’t spark interest in the region’s casual footy fan base. If nsw cup and Q cup clubs had a chance of getting promoted into the nrl the ratings of Sunday arvo games would be ten times what they are now. Imagine The mighty Balmain Tigers playing the North Sydney Bears to playoff for getting back into the top tier. You’d be lucky to get a ticket. Obviously certain criteria would need to be established and junior rugby league would need to be a major factor and bringing in transfer fee’s would also be a driver in development of the junior leagues. The loyal fans that were lost to the game by kicking one them out and forcing a merger with a rival for the other will be back in droves. It would drive the game forward! But like everything the nrl does they’ll wait until AFL does it.
Brad H
Roar Rookie
Liquorbox, a very good point about broadcasters not accepting of it, if there was no NRL presence in Brisbane as a consequence.
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
Always an interesting hypothetical. I don't think that anyone has mentioned what is possibly the biggest obstacle; No NRL clubs are going to vote for it.
liquorbox_
Roar Rookie
There is too much risk of major teams that bring in the revenue to the game being relegated. Would the NRL survive the Broncos being relegated? Big crowds, bit ratings etc would be lost. What would the criteria be to play in the second tier? Would they have stadiums suitable for a promotion, or would they be forced from the regular home grounds to another ground? I love the idea of a promotion/relegation but cannot see it happening because of the risk of good teams having a bad year. Maybe the relegation team should be decided over a three to five year period, if you are performing bag for a long time then you may be relegated for a team that has performed well for a three to five year period.
Brad H
Roar Rookie
Max Power, Another comment on yet another forum from you with no substance to justify the statement.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
It wouldn't work. Money would be the big issue. How would a team compete coming into the first division, where would the money come from and where would the players come from. Where would the teams from? There are the two second division comps for NSW and Qld but what about the other states and the Kiwis. As well, when two teams were promoted in 1967, they weren't the teams that finished first and second.
Brad H
Roar Rookie
Greg, I agree 100%. I highlighted this in the article as a key factor.
Greg
Roar Pro
The only people that can decide if this could work are 9/fox. How much will they pay for broadcast rights of a national 2nd tier comp? And is it enough to cover the costs of running it? Every other argument for and against can only be addresssed after this is answered.
Rellum
Roar Guru
I still think a restrictive localized form of promotion relegation is the best way to grow the game and not loose supporters in Sydney and Brisbane. Basically only Brisbane and Sydney or NSW and QLD would have promotion/relegation. Only 4 or 5 clubs from Sydney for example in the NRL the rest battle it out in the NSW cup to get a shot at the big time. Sydney fans always tell us they could never follow another club so by their own words they should have no problem following a team playing in the lower division. Funds would have to be carefully distributed to make sure clubs are competitive.
Peter Piper
Guest
If you want me to take your comment seriously then you need to be specific. As it stands, your comment is meaningless.
Brad H
Roar Rookie
Some good points Peter Piper.
Brad H
Roar Rookie
Well Adam, when you look at the PROS and CONS of an issue, that’s the idea! 50/50 treatment!
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
Take some of your own advice. Half the article is endorsing the system, the other half is against it. Not sure how this point is missed.
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
Literally half the article is about how such a system could be good for the game. I did read it and it was just like every other article about promotion and relegation. I think there's been about 25 so far this year.
Peter Piper
Guest
4) Relegation - Most good clubs (like St George) that hit a bad patch and get relegated would tend to bounce back the following year as getting demoted tends to focus the mind of a club that has become distracted but if they don't - does it really matter ? If St George just got relegated than some team like The Bears or Brisbane 2 just got promoted. If they are constant battler like say the Titans well maybe a second division is a more comfortable home for them and if they go bankrupt then market forces have decided that. If there is real support for a club in an area then it will continue, survive and maybe one day prosper. 5)Strategic clubs like the Warriors or Melbourne might get killed off. True but then new strategic clubs like Perth, Christchurch or Geelong might come into existence and in fact with a second division, the latter is more likely. A second tier has never been tried but it has existed in UK sport for a very long time. It works there and it works well so we have a very good test case to examine and explore. We seem to think that we don't have enough money yet the ESL has far less revenue than us and they do it. Travel is said to be a problem yet we manage to travel to New Zealand. It is time for us to be bold and do something different in this country, it might just be a roaring success.
max power
Guest
he was actually accurate in his appraisal
max power
Guest
your examples are poor
Peter Piper
Guest
Gee we are a set of Ludites in this country aren't we Lets look at the against points shall we 1) Some fans may stop watching because their team get relegated - and some more fans start watching their team because they just got promoted. The only real danger here is if we reduce the number of top tier teams otherwise it is likely to lead to increased crowds as teams fighting for promotion creates massive excitement. Just look at Toronto crowds. Alien sport playing in a foreign country second tier comp, lots of travel similar to a team in Perth but a team with a real prospect of promotion to the top tier. 2) Second Tier funding - yep it is something that has to be worked out in conjunction with our tv partners because guess what ? There are revenue opportunities here as well. NRL Channel anyone ? 3) Salary Cap level - something else that has to be decided. Anyone taken a look at how it works in the U.K. Maybe a demoted club has to shed some players but if they just got demoted then maybe that is a good thing. The level of salary cap depends to some extent on how much our tv partners stepped up to the plate.
beepee
Roar Rookie
Adam - unnecessary and rude! The author doesn't endorse either option....if you take the time to read it!