not sure what fight you watched Sash. Geale clearly pushed the action, landed the cleaner and crisper punches and his footwork and head movement made Mundine look old and slow.

Geale needs to keep hold of a belt or fight in an eliminator for say the WBC belt I think. If he doesn’t have an alphabet title to offer someone then he will struggle to get the big pay days.

With his win over Mundine, I wonder how marketable he is now in Australia. And whether 9000 would turn up to a fight that does not feature Mundine. I hope so.

Steve, It didn’t surprise me that it was a no on expansion. 14/16 teams make a loss on football operations. The ARLC has been operational for less than a year. The Titans almost went bankrupt and the Sharks were oh so close for god knows how many years.

Wouldn’t the fact that there was no clear direction on expansion tell the bid teams that the ARLC was not looking at it at this stage?

Plus I think we need to expand junior playing numbers etc before we can look at a 17th and 18th team. Particularly in the WA area as they will be the new fans of the game.

I do agree that the teams should be Brisbane and WA based teams and I think that is what we will see. Brisbane first followed by WA a few years afterwards.

I think the Central Coast is too close to Sydney. Further, they are just around the corner from Newcastle and also Manly so I don’t see a team in that region bringing in many new fans. That area is already saturated in my opinion. And I feel that a team there will crowd out the Sydney market for sponsorship etc.

With Central Queensland, I feel there are better options that are more sustainable.

I would expect that they would be looking for 2 new teams to come in during the next broadcast agreement (from 2018 onwards). You would expect at that stage most of the current clubs to be making football profits surely.

You forget they cheated for many of their wins. Lets not forget that the teams they beat through the 2006-2010 seasons may have gone onto finals and even premierships. But they were stopped not only by a team who exceeded the salary cap, but one who did their best to cover it up. That costs many team hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not to mention potential Premierships to boot.

I would not characterise this as redemption at all.

There are rules and if you break them you get punished. End of story.

David, look at their recent competition and that will tell you who should be favourite. I felt Geale won the first fight and he should win the second. Much more experienced. Too many angles and a too high work rate.

I agree that they only have a certain life expectancy as football players.

I believe that the answer lies in making it more financially attractive to play for New Zealand. The NZRU needs to create strategies to increase revenue and increase player payments.

Also I believe that life after football for many players is extremely rewarding financially. With the connections many of them have forged over their football careers it is not as bad as we are made out to believe it is.

I think one off tests are useless. If you are going to play 1 then you should play 3.

4 nations is a good concept and I am happy for that to continue.

Disagree with NZ players being able to play for NSW or QLD.

I believe City vs Country is still relevant but as I have mentioned in other threads, it should be held on a representative weekend which also ecompasses Origin and other rep games.

These guys are professional athletes and I disagree with having a year off representative games.

I agree that for equality, 26 rounds and 16 teams just doesn’t go. Either play each other once or twice. You can’t have some teams playing the storm twice and then the Eels once like you suggested.

Eventually I would love for it to be a 20 team competition with new teams coming from Brisbane, Perth, New Zealand and another to be confirmed. Then you could have a 19 round NRL competition which sees 152 regular season games.

Then I favour a representative weekend which could include Australian State of Origin, New Zealand State of Origin, NSW City vs Country, QLD City vs Country, Australian Aborigines vs New Zealand Maoris, and Pacific Island nations playing international fixtures. I know that there would be selection headaches as many players would qualify for several different teams but surely this can be worked out for the good of the game. If that is over three weekends then hopefully we could get another 10 games for broadcasters.

I must be in the minority but I do not like the ANZAC test in April. I feel it is a distraction and would prefer to have all internationals played at the end of the year. Why we are only playing one this year is beyong me. The players say they need a break but they are professional athletes and I feel we missed an opportunity to have another four nations which would boost the profile of international rugby league.

I love the concept of the Challenge Cup and the other knockout competitions that are played in Europe throughout all sports. I would like to see this instituted in Oz somehow and it can be played on a Wednesday night. That would help develop the depth of league and have other benefits to the game. Hopefully broadcasters once the series got closer to the end would catch on and televise the games mid week.

I was at the Super League grand final on the weekend and I can say that there was no half time entertainment. I didn’t miss it at all and preferred being able to chat to my mate and some of the other fans around us.

There needs to be clearer eligibility rules and hopefully they will come. I believe that once a player chooses either Australia, England or New Zealand that they should not be able to change. If they are not picked to play for one of these nations then they should be able to represent the other nations if they qualify.

I like your argument.

But if we did that and said he could play for England then what about State of Origin. It is not the NRL so I would suggest as it is a different competition it should be treated differently also. I know it comes under the jurisdiction of the ARLC but I still see it as a separate competition. Similar to the EPL, Champions league, FA cup etc.

I am not sure what the solution is but I think it is wrong of him to be able to count those two games when people who do not represent their countries would not be able to. And how long until one smart coach decides to say they would pick him for Australia, NZ or England in order to simply reduce their sentence (secretly of course). I find that to be an issue also.

I agree that you can’t take a one game comparison and declare that rugby league has problems.

How many games did the Suns and GWS win this year? I didn’t watch a game and have no idea but I know they regularly get beaten by 50-100 points.

I find that there are some journalists that claim to like rugby league but at the end of the day they will write anything to sell newspapers. And often it means a criticism of rugby league and/or promoting a rival competition.

totally agree. After a huge year and losing the GF the players would obviously be devastated.

I think the ARLC should be putting a call into Nine for a please explain.

Surely some things are off limits and privacy should be respected.

eaglejack, I didn’t realise this. My memory doesn’t serve so well then.

I still think this game should be a sell out. Pity I can’t make it.

Lots of Media outlets have claimed that the Bulldogs vs Eels match that drew around 75,000 is the highest crowd figure in a finals series to date. I was at the Tigers vs Dragons game that attracted around 78,000 so some people are mistaken. Great game too.

Surely that two teams who play their home games at ANZ can sell the place out? I think any other outcome is a disappointment.

Also I would think that the storm might go close to a sell out down in Melbourne. Not sure how many seats AAMI stadium holds but you would expect that ticket sales could reach the 30k mark?

I would be interested to see if the ARLC would ever consider simply selling their rights as a pay as you watch sort of thing. Similar to a boxing match. If you want to watch that game then you pay a small fee for it. Or you can pay an annual subscription for the season. And this is the only way that you can watch the game. Not sure whether that will be something that people want to do in the future but I could see it being discussed as an option. Especially considering the advancements in technology that are taking place already and they will only continue exponentially.

Hi mushi, thanks for your comments.

In respect of wanting a 50% increase, as I understand it they still have NZ rights to sell and also online media. So at present the total deal is $1.025 billion. I would expect the final figure to be closer to $1.2bn. So only a $300m gap to make up. If they can show a 9th game can add value then I would think that would be attainable.

I think that a small increase may come from Melbourne but I would expect a Perth team that plays in prime time Perth time in 5 years time to be somewhat marketable. Considering there does appear to be some interest there at present.

And I see your point about the Aboriginals and Maoris choosing which is something I have thought of and I think would be a huge obstacle to that becoming a reality. And yes I understand your concerns about an NZ Origin but people continue to push it so I think in some form it should take off.

If Tasmania with a population of 500,000 people have been told by the AFL that they cannot sustain an AFL team then I think Central Queensland with a population of roughly 200,000 will struggle to sustain an NRL team.

Plus you won’t make many new fans in Central Queensland whereas a place like Perth has much untapped potential to grow the game.

I would not expect them to be lower when there is so much competition for sporting programs amongst the channels.

Further growth for the NRL is quite realistic in my opinion. They have a small following in Melbourne with the Storm but have yet to tap the Perth market fully and Adelaide is another potential in the future (albeit not essential).

I read those comments from John Grant. I assumed he was inferring that it only works if the new teams are competitive and bring in new markets. Because as we have seen the new teams for the AFL are not competitive at this stage.

I am not sure about 2 new teams in the same city. They would be fighting over the same new fans in effect.

I like a new team in Brisbane because I know broadcasters would like it and also it is a large city that follows rugby league very passionately so it could sustain a second team in my opinion.

Perth I feel because that would give the competition a more national touch. And it is a new time zone and a completely new market. From what I understand the NRL games that have been played there so far the past few years have attracted good interest.

I think another NZ team is also inevitable but must be done right. From all reports the game has finally got its act together over there.

Disagree Football United. A co worker comes from Brisbane and he hates the Broncos as that is all you get in Brisbane. He is likely to support another team just because it is not the Broncos. Also you have Australia’s third largest city with only one NRL team.

A team on the Central Coast will just take sponsorship and other revenue away from the Sydney clubs. Only way the CC works is if a Sydney club moves there. My suggestion is Cronulla.

As for Central Queensland, no thanks. That doesn’t tickle my fancy at all.

I think the next TV rights deal will se 2 new teams so that we get 9 games per week. Brisbane and Perth. Then after that New Zealand will be ready for another team also. I would also like to see PNG have a team in a decade or so but that has so many obstacles it is not funny.

Another extremely negative thought about the new deal. I was surprised that there wasn’t more live games online. If you want live games then stream it online on the internet. I do and yes it’s illegal but it’s free.

There is a lot to like about the deal. It more than doubles the money they currently get for one. And the F&L rights is gone forever.

It was never going to go from mediocrity to absolutely stunning overnight. But I think they made huge strides. I woud expect that the next deal would make even more strides and I would expect surpass the AFL in terms of revenue.

I don’t see Geale stopping Sturm. He doesn’t have the punching power to stop the elite boxers. But he has to outwork him for 12 rounds and look really dominant doing it.

At least he is taking the big fights and risking something to get recognition. Unlike some other boxers.

I really hope he wins and then maybe he gets a shot at one of the other champions and a decent bag day in America.

I prefer the view put forward by Nick Tedesch at makingthenut.comi that we adopt the NFL style system.

With your idea, all I would add is that the video refs should not be allowed to watch the game or know what the score is. Therefore they are unsure of the state of the game as I believe this has a bearing on their interpretation at times.

stand alone representative weekend I say. Play NSW City vs Country, QLD City vs Country, NZ Origin, Australian Aborigines vs NZ Maoris. Pacific Island games. Any representative game where you can field a team.

I agree.

And it blows my mind that people look at RIcky Stuart as a saviour of the world. His record speaks for itself. He took the Roosters to the grand final but then when he left they were down the bottom of the table. He took the sharks to the bring of a grand final berth and when he left they came last I believe. The same thing will happen with him at Parramatta I believe.

And you shouldn’t change policy for one man. Who by the way lost the last two series. It doesn’t say on the winners trophy that NSW tried hard and were really close. It says QLD won again.

you are totally right, he definitely wasn’t prepared for a shoulder to the head. That’s the most ridiculous comment I have read so far.

agree. Not sure how anyone can claim he was falling in the tackle. Granted someone has him by the waist but he is still upright.

Btw Ian, Dean Young is not so short. And being tall is not an excuse for contact with the head. Also, where else was his shoulder going to make contact with?