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SA club protest at poor running of game by NRL

Perth Red

Post Whore
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65,411
There were remarkable scenes in Adelaide yesterday when a team boycotted the South Australian grand final and police were called to disperse the crowd.

Several hundred fans turned up to watch the game and were left bitterly disappointed when players from the South Adelaide club - the reigning premiers - went down on one knee in a silent protest as the game was about to start.

The referee had no choice other than to call the game off and award the game to the opposition, the Central Roosters.


South Adelaide assistant coach Adam Parkinson told Wide World of Sports the club decided on the drastic course of action to highlight their anger at the way the South Australian Rugby League is run.

“We find the way the game is conducted in this state to be disgraceful,” the source said.

“Clubs are left in the dark by the SARL, there are secret meetings held, we don’t get told where funds go and often don’t even know what games we are playing.

“The game in this state is dying and we felt we had to do this for the NRL to take notice.”

The Roosters were stunned by South Adelaide's stance.

“We heard rumours of a boycott during the week but ran out onto the field expecting to play a tough grand final,” coach Howard Burke said.

“We understand their stance but frankly it is immature in my opinion and what they did was an insult to the game.

“I woke up this morning with the grand final trophy on my kitchen table but frankly it is a very hollow feeling.”

The South Australian RL put out a one paragraph statement after the embarrassing events.

“The ISC Cup Grand Final has been cancelled due to misconduct by the South Adelaide Club. The game has been awarded to the Central Roosters.”

South Adelaide are now set to get their wish - with the NRL certain to investigate the incident.

http://wwos.nine.com.au/2017/08/27/11/06/boycott-south-australian-rugby-league
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
65,411
Since the nrl took over the running of the affiliated states we have seen the game all but disappear in tassie, big problems in the NT, WA registered numbers drop for the first time in over a decade and now this in SA. Good job they didn't muscle out the nswrl and qrl and just decided to screw the small states!
 

DlEHARD

Juniors
Messages
823
NRL have been a disgrace since taking over the WA and SA RL.

But I don't support boycotting a Grand Final, you are hurting the grassroots. Dial it back.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
65,411
I guess when you feel disempowered you have to be heard in dramatic ways. Wouldn't have made national news without something this big. Things must be very bad to give up a GF!
 

ATOWN2

Juniors
Messages
149

Press release-
The South Adelaide Bulldogs Rugby League club has made the extremely difficult decision to boycott today's 2017 NRL South Australia grand final. The boycott is a protest against the way players and clubs are treated by the South Australian branch of the NRL.

The local administration are killing Rugby League in this state. We have had enough and see no other way to make the national body take notice.

The unjust treatment of players is just a catalyst.

This protest is to show the NRL that we love our game enough to risk the biggest prize in order to save it.

There is nothing in this for us except the hope of a better future for Rugby League in South Australia so that our children can play this great game for years to come.
 

adamkungl

Immortal
Messages
42,955
Since the nrl took over the running of the affiliated states we have seen the game all but disappear in tassie, big problems in the NT, WA registered numbers drop for the first time in over a decade and now this in SA. Good job they didn't muscle out the nswrl and qrl and just decided to screw the small states!

And people think the NRL should take over junior development from the clubs lol.
 

RoosTah

Juniors
Messages
2,257
This is absolutely disgraceful that the NRL would decide to take over the running of the states and then bungle it so atrociously... centralisation is supposed to make things simpler, but you still have to have dedicated people on the ground and you still have to provide them with enough resources to do their bloody jobs
 

Jimmy Wiggle

Juniors
Messages
115
while numbers have dropped in WA, its in the seniors that have taken the hit. Junior numbers are still good, I'm involved in the North Beach club. We are one of the smaller junior clubs but have increased our numbers this year. On the senior side of things we lost 34 players from last years 3 grand final sides and replaced them with 12 guys who have never played before but had seen it on tv.
 

ATOWN2

Juniors
Messages
149
https://www.facebook.com/sabulldogs/
South Adelaide Rugby League Club

28 August 2017

Further statement regarding boycott of the 2017 NRL South Australia grand final

The boycott and protest that took place on Saturday has received a lot of interest from all over the country.

Our intention to send a clear message that something needed to change in our local competition seems to be getting out there. The courage shown by the Bulldogs players and supporters as well as the players and supporters from other clubs in bringing to light the failings of the local competition is inspiring and shows that our people care about the sport more than about themselves.

There are some important points that need to be clarified as to the reasons behind the protest:

1. The protest was for the benefit of all clubs in South Australia

2. The protest was against the way the league is run, its lack of proper direction, transparency and fairness to players and clubs

3. The protest was not about the Bulldogs except that we are part of a larger league that needs fixing

4. The protest was about making sure we have Rugby League in this state for many years to come. Declining numbers of players and sponsors are directly attributable to the way the sport is administered in South Australia.

It is now crucial that anyone who has a story about how the NRL SA has failed them or mistreated them come forward and tell their story. That is the only way change will happen.

Please direct any stories, statements or comments back to our Facebook page or contact any of our members directly.

We are happy to lead the campaign, but we can’t change anything without your help.

Email: southadelaidebulldogs@gmail.com
 

Stallion

First Grade
Messages
7,467
Seems to be a universal theme as even within NSW the targeting and efforts of Development officers are hardly inspiring! Im getting the feeling "the bad guys are in control?"
 

Stallion

First Grade
Messages
7,467
Good on them. The neglect of all except NSW and QLD must end.

I would suggest the wholesale neglect of rugby league as a code needs addressing. The 'bad guys' are seeing to the ruin of the game as we know it. The current administrators aren't there for development and growth. This is very clear.
 

Perth Red

Post Whore
Messages
65,411
Problem is most of the money the NRL hands out is flowing to the top small % of the grass roots pyramid. There has been very little growth of funding to the majority of grass roots with the large chunk of it going to top up the already significant funding the qland and nsw cup leagues get.
I'll be very surprised if this new $100mill a year the NRL keeps talking about needing for grass roots doesn't also mostly end up in the elite Jnr programmes and clubs rather than at the foot of the pyramid.

WA got very lucky in that it has an outstanding CEO in charge of the game here who decided to stay when the NRL bulldozed its way over the WARL. If John had walked when most of the WARL board did the game here would have likely collapsed again as it has done in SA and Tassie and is showing signs of doing in NT.
 

ATOWN2

Juniors
Messages
149
Channel 7 Adelaide ran a story on the incident but unfortunately the reporting completely misrepresented the story. Basically Channel 7 were supplied with some heavily edited footage by the NRL SA to run a negative story on the club. The original game was uploaded on Youtube but was deleted along with the original footage. In fact the NRL SA have been deleting a lot of footage of previous games and deleting any negative comments on their social media pages.


The Bulldogs did not boycott the game because of 4 players getting suspended from the Grand Final. The suspension was just the catalyst. There are much deeper seated issues than that including the viability of the whole competition going forwards in the future. At this stage there is a lot of talk and comments on social media regarding their negative experiences with the current administration. The general consensus is that NRL SA have made it hard as volunteers, supporters, coaches, management and clubs over all to have a voice and to have say in the future of our game. They have denied answers to questions and it's impossible to get anything longer than a 10 word reply from them. They are killing the game with politics.

A lot of clubs have folded in Adelaide over the past 10 years and junior rugby league at club level has all but evaporated. Some clubs (Central District Roosters) have been urged not to comment at all on social media for fear of repercussions. The issue is players and the community simply don’t have a voice. There is no AGM, there are no player councils, and there are no options to lodge appeals. Any concerns are dismissed and politics have completely ruined the league from what it was back in the 90’s.

The NRL employs several 'Development Officers' in Adelaide but frankly they are wasting their time going around to schools when there are no virtually no clubs for these school kids to play for. They come out see that there's only 2 or 3 clubs in junior league and quickly get tired of playing against the same kids week in and week out. Hence, they move to AFL and Union. Amateur rugby league is on its knees in SA and even though an investigation is occurring I believe it will be biased. Obviously it’s easier for the NRL to try and sweep negative press under the carpet and ignore past issues than actually try and grow the game.

No decision has been made regarding the future of the South Adelaide Bulldogs. However, at this stage there are murmurs that the club (at least Seniors) will be kicked out of the competition for at least a year, which is a real shame considering it is a foundation club of the comp. All players involved will also be suspended for a year or two unless there are exceptional circumstances demonstrating why they don't deserve a suspension. More importantly a lot of these players simply won't come back and the standard of the comp will decrease even further than what it is now. A real shame all around.
 

Diesel

Coach
Messages
19,918
RLPA couldn't give a shit about RL in SA, there's no money in it for Smith and co
 
Messages
14,139
Where are the NRL apologists?


The whole NRL development structure and strategy is a joke, aimed entirely at pumping up flimsy numbers VFL Auskick style. But the apologists lap it
up like the blind sheep they are.
 

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