Brown quits

[Perth Red]

Panthers CEO is a disgrace, running the sport down in his first few months in the job and trying to discredit an IRL competition that could set up the game overseas for the next 4 years. I'd have rung and told him what I thought of him as well!

The guy seems to have done a great job getting good tv partner, great city hosting rights income and already some hype and marketing 18months out (when have you ever seen that for RL?)

Clearly he was doing too good a job for the cluster f**k that is RL! Go back to Melbourne and get a job with a code that will appreciate your abilities Brown.

 

[Perth Red]

On penrtihs whinge, reality is the game will,have made more money before a ticket is sold than it would being held in Penrith where they would be lucky to sell 14k tickets. To whinge that the game has done them wrong by going with the best option of making a profit is a joke and probably explains why they lose money every year.

 

[deal.with.it]

Brown said that the panthers were going to charge $500k for one game at their stadium.
Meanwhile the SFS is only costing $100K.
It's a no brainer. Payne is just toeing gus's party line, and released his stupid long-winded public letter to save face.

Brown said before the draw was announced that venues was releasedthat venues would host multiple games to reduce costs - the same as the very successful Asian Cup he managed.

As for Darwin, why shouldn't they get to host major events? They hosted the davis cup not too long ago. Did anyone complain? No, because their government bid and were successful. That's how shit works. It's ignorant RL fans and administrators that ruin this sport.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Don't worry, I'm sure next time the Panthers won't even bother bidding or taking an interest at all. And then we can whinge that NRL clubs do nothing for IRL.

I can't see how the double headers in NQ can be justified. Fine, send games to where they've been paid for, but tacking games onto others at the last minute instead of having stand alone games in places that have no games is stupid. They could have sent those games to Penrith and Newcastle and engaged a lot more different people and avoided a lot of the bad press.

 

[Last Week]

I can't see how the double headers in NQ can be justified. Fine, send games to where they've been paid for, but tacking games onto others at the last minute instead of having stand alone games in places that have no games is stupid. They could have sent those games to Penrith and Newcastle and engaged a lot more different people and avoided a lot of the bad press.

Is that what happened is it? Got any source for that assertion?

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

That said, I'm surprised Brown went off his rocker and got fired. Seems that good people working in league end up just bailing because it is not worth the infighting and criticism.

Games in the bush? Mate, just drive to Sydney or Canberra. It is not that hard.

My guess is that Brown started copping it from all sides and just said "f*ck it, i quit"...

A private phone call could easily be pasted over if there was the will, but my guess is that Brown had just had enough of the shockingly unprofessional nature of the game.

Its such a shame that good people come forward to help the game and are just spat on so regularly. The ARLC obviously saw him as a long term employee (RLWC CEO job in the short term and the CCO job once the WC was done).

F*cking hell, this game is just pathetic...

 

[Scubby]

Don't worry, I'm sure next time the Panthers won't even bother bidding or taking an interest at all. And then we can whinge that NRL clubs do nothing for IRL.

I can't see how the double headers in NQ can be justified. Fine, send games to where they've been paid for, but tacking games onto others at the last minute instead of having stand alone games in places that have no games is stupid. They could have sent those games to Penrith and Newcastle and engaged a lot more different people and avoided a lot of the bad press.

If Penrith get to host a game in the 2025 World Cup then we are well and truly #####'

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Is that what happened is it? Got any source for that assertion?

If that's not what happened then they just decided it was a good idea to have a double header at Cairns all along. Which says a lot in itself.

I've seen people online who are probably casual fans saying "3 games in Cairns, 2 games in Sydney WTF?" and that's what most casuals or people new to the game will think too.

Double headers at massive venues might seem reasonable but a double header at a regional athletics venue that holds 13k looks weak. Let's face it, double headers are about getting closer to a full house when stand alone games can't pull crowds. But the problem with it is it's minimising attendees overall. Stand alone in Cairns might get 8k while a double header might make it 10k. A stand alone game in Penrith or Newcastle might get 8k on its own (you'd hope more). So overall that's not only less but it's less "unique" fans as well. We should want as many people as possible to be able to watch games and experience IRL. This is failing to do that.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

If Penrith get to host a game in the 2025 World Cup then we are well and truly #####'

Penrith might have a 25k all seater ground by then. It will probably be a population centre comparable to a big city in its own right. But in any case, it's not about 2025, it's about any potential IRL event at any time in the future. And it's not just about hosting games but a general attitude towards IRL. People whinge that NRL clubs do nothing for IRL and when one does make an effort it ends like this.

 

[Evil Homer]

If that's not what happened then they just decided it was a good idea to have a double header at Cairns all along. Which says a lot in itself.

I've seen people online who are probably casual fans saying "3 games in Cairns, 2 games in Sydney WTF?" and that's what most casuals or people new to the game will think too.

Double headers at massive venues might seem reasonable but a double header at a regional athletics venue that holds 13k looks weak. Let's face it, double headers are about getting closer to a full house when stand alone games can't pull crowds. But the problem with it is it's minimising attendees overall. Stand alone in Cairns might get 8k while a double header might make it 10k. A stand alone game in Penrith or Newcastle might get 8k on its own (you'd hope more). So overall that's not only less but it's less "unique" fans as well. We should want as many people as possible to be able to watch games and experience IRL. This is failing to do that.

From what has been said, it sounds like any matches in NSW apart from the existing ones involving Lebanon would've been loss makers due to the lack of cooperation from the NSW government and the clubs themselves. I don't agree with the Cairns/Townsville double headers in principle, but presumably the relevant bodies in NQ were willing to stump up a large amount of cash for a certain number of games and this was the only realistic way to fit them in. Sucks for the people of NSW but on the other hand it's great that we finally have a product we can sell rather than trying to force it on unwilling or reluctant participants.

 

[franklin2323]

Regardless of whether they agree with the decisions or not, they shouldnt go running their mouths off in the media trying to talk down the event...

If they have complains, they should front the ARL Commissioners.

But whinging to the media is beyond pathetic and typical of RL old boys throwing their little tantrums.

I know nothing about Brown, so i cannot comment on his abilities. But when Payne and Gus demand a WC game, offer nothing in return and whinge in the media when they dont get it, it shows just how amateur they are.

It doesnt surprise me that this came from Gus (he is a man-child who has made a great living pissing on RL), but Payne was MEANT to be a professions....

PAyne and Gould need to care what the sponsors and fans of the club think. So the statement was nothing more then to say they tried and didn't get it. Brown should of just ignored it what doe sit bother him?

 

[franklin2323]

The government may have suggested $4m initially, but it was they that withered it down to nothing, not Brown!

As for the Panthers, they bid $200,000 short of what Brown deemed acceptable, and so the game went elsewhere. If Darwin paid $1m, this gives an idea of the going rate for the pool matchs, and $200,000 short for a game in a dilapidated stadium in far Western Sydney doesn't sound that hard to refuse.

That said, I'm surprised Brown went off his rocker and got fired. Seems that good people working in league end up just bailing because it is not worth the infighting and criticism.

Games in the bush? Mate, just drive to Sydney or Canberra. It is not that hard.

You seen the Cairns and Darwin stadium? They aren't that good themselves. Good for the game to play there but staduim quality had nothing to do with it

 

[franklin2323]

Penrith might have a 25k all seater ground by then. It will probably be a population centre comparable to a big city in its own right. But in any case, it's not about 2025, it's about any potential IRL event at any time in the future. And it's not just about hosting games but a general attitude towards IRL. People whinge that NRL clubs do nothing for IRL and when one does make an effort it ends like this.

better then some the English grounds that hosted games last WC. 4m people in the area by then surely a pacific Islands game could be there

 

[adamkungl]

I don't see how anyone is justifiably attacking Payne. He's not the one who threw the toys out of the cot and quit his job/got himself sacked (whichever report you believe) over a fairly minor disagreement.

Is Micheal Brown a giant baby? I'm glad he's gone, I don't think major events should be run by giant babies.

 

[Perth Red]

Payne had no right to put out a public release that was highly critical and damaging of a major RL event on the week that it should have been generating positive media hype. It was a well orchestrated mouthpiece, probably Gus's, designed to attack the NRL because Panthers didn't get their way. All despite the fact that the RLWC model is now able to actually sell its products instead of giving them away.

After months of hard work setting up deals with state Govt's, getting burnt by the NSW govt who pulled out of a deal, only to find one of our own sticking the knife in because they didnt get given something they were not entitled too, I think some curse words down the phone were well justified!

Cairns got 3 games because somebody paid for them, how hard is that to understand? they will make more money, end of discussion.

 

[Desert Qlder]

Michael Brown is an experienced administrator with a history of delivering successful major events, and was looking at the best way of administering the RLWC.

Payne is a nobody/yes man with no form to speak of trying to get bums in front of poker machines.

 

[Last Week]

Paynes actions are typical of the boys club that still exists in Rugby League.

Fair enough, Brown should have acted more professionally. Separate issue which appears to have been dealt with. Doesn't escape the fact that Payne bad mouthed the absolute pinnacle of our sport. Payne should have been pulled into line.

 

[Perth Red]

It's not surprising Greenberg sided with a Sydney club ahead of doing what was best for the game.

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

PAyne and Gould need to care what the sponsors and fans of the club think. So the statement was nothing more then to say they tried and didn't get it. Brown should of just ignored it what doe sit bother him?

If this was true then the entire statement would have read:
"we are proud of our effort in attempting to attach world class RL to Penrith. Unfortunately, Mr Brown decided to go in a different direct. We wish the competition all the best and hope for more events in the future"

Instead they went right out of their way to attack Brown and take shots at the Comp.

F*cking unprofessional, and im guessing they have ended any hopes of getting games next time. Its what happens when you burn bridges for a whinge...

 

[Hello, I'm The Doctor]

Paynes actions are typical of the boys club that still exists in Rugby League.

Fair enough, Brown should have acted more professionally. Separate issue which appears to have been dealt with. Doesn't escape the fact that Payne bad mouthed the absolute pinnacle of our sport. Payne should have been pulled into line.

He should have been slapped back to primary school...