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Finally, rugby league looks set to fully embrace professionalism. Fifteen years after News Limited did their best deliver a new era for the sport, the media giant will now complete the job with its exit from the game.
Rugby league is going where it has never gone before, with Tuesday’s ratification of the long-awaited independent commission act a broom sweeping away the bureaucracy which has dragged the game down.
One body will now run rugby league – free of `jobs for the boys’ and conflicts of interest.
Until now it was hard to see just who was running the game.
One organisation – the ARL – was running the cash cow that was State of Origin football, another the bread and butter of the NRL competition.
News Limited shared control of the game with the ARL, while also owning one of its clubs – Melbourne.
The media giant – with seats on the NRL – also played a part in approving television rights deals, while also holding a stake in one of the companies bidding for the rights.
Such scenarios will no longer exist, with eight commissioners to be elected by the ARL and News Limited.
To ensure independence, commissioners will not be able to have been involved in any official capacity with either News Limited or rugby league in the past three years.
NRL chief executive David Gallop will maintain his position as the boss of the game, and will answer to the eight commissioners.
His first priority will be to negotiate a television package which should pour unprecedented amounts of money into the game, with reports of a $1 billion deal being in the offing.
But the establishment of the independent commission means no longer will broadcast right be the only source of big money.
The commissioners, with names such as former Qantas boss Geoff Dixon and radio king Alan Jones mentioned as possible candidates – will also be entrusted with getting the high-end of town involved in the game.
Whether they are successful in getting more money remains to be seen, but either way, rugby league is certainly headed for brighter days.
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